The Bond of The Crone
by V-Marie-Ashes
Summary: October? Check! Annoying migraines? Check! Blinded by shining golden threads? Che-what? Sudden lack of bodily movement? Huh? A bond forged 12 years ago? What the-? Sanji had hated October for 12 years, but this year he finally learned the reason why, and it was definitely not what he had expected. (Sort of a different kind of memory-watching fic) (new summary that fits better?)
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own One Piece, and I am not making any money from writing this. All rights to the characters and the world of One Piece is property of Eiichiro Oda. (Except for The Shepherd, he's mine.)

* * *

 **The Bond of The Crone  
** **Chapter 1**

"Halloween, Halloween, Halloween~"

They had been chanting it all morning, and it was starting to get on his nerves. Sanji had tried to refrain from smacking his head on the counter. He wasn't exactly excited about celebrating the day where the veil between the living and the dead was the thinnest. If he was to be totally honest about it, he despised it. And it didn't exactly help that the boy's had been going on and on about it for over a week. How they knew they'd entered the month of the autumn harvest, he wasn't sure. They had been at sea when it started, and it wasn't like they had a calendar on the ship. Well, he had one, and he was sure Nami and Robin had one in their bedroom as well. He just didn't think the other boys knew about it.

He rubbed his temple, feeling the twinge of throbbing pain that was wrapped around his head like a belt. _Fucking migraine_ , he sighed. He had started getting them the first day of the month and he hadn't needed to check his calendar to know why it was happening. It was the same every year, and he knew it was only going to get worse. It always did.

"SAANJIIII~"

He groaned as he heard Luffy's tell-tale yelling of his name, he knew that tone so well, and knew that there was only one thing Luffy was after. Food.

"Lunch will be done in an hour!" He yelled back as he shifted his weight to one foot, readying himself for the inevitable. _This is gonna hurt,_ he sighed again. Not even a moment after he'd thought it, he felt rather than heard, their captain rushing towards him. He timed his kick perfectly and connected it with Luffy's head, sending him crashing to the floor a few feet from him. "I said," he growled through clenched teeth as the belt around his head squeezed a little harder, "Lunch will be done in an hour!"

"But I'm hungry!" Luffy whined.

"We had breakfast not even three hours ago, and I just gave you a snack, so stop whining, damnit!" He knew he shouldn't have raised his voice, but he couldn't help it. It was a habit, and he couldn't stop himself from doing it.

"Sanji is so mean!" Luffy pouted and stuck his tongue out at him.

He tried not to rub his temple as he growled in frustration, "We're running low on supplies again Luffy! If you want more than rice and whatever I'm able to scrape together with the few things we have left in the fishtank, then make yourself useful and catch us something!" He turned back to the stove, the bread was nearly done. "And bring Usopp and Chopper with you!"

"So stingy!" Luffy huffed, but ran back outside yelling for Usopp and Chopper to grab the fishing gear.

 _That was easier than I expected_. He looked at the timer, nine minutes left. He really wanted to just lay his head down on the cold surface of the counter to cool down his steadily increasing aching head. But he still had to prepare the fishcakes, the bacon and ham omelettes, the salad, and the veggie-burgers for Chopper, and then he had to put on a fresh pot of coffee, and then make some new lemonade. He ticked off the list in his head as he made his way over to the fridge. As he was rummaging through it, he almost put his entire head inside, feeling the cold temperature soothe some of the aching as the belt around his head lessened a fraction. The relief was short lived however as he knew he didn't have time to stay there, he needed to get on with the cooking. The crew's needs were always top priority.

He had decided not to go to Chopper until it was nearing the end of the month however, when he knew the pain would be substantially worse, and he would have difficulty not throwing up, or fainting, or both. He gritted his teeth, regretting it immediately as sharp pain shot through his head again, and his peripheral turned black for a just a second. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself, knowing full well that getting frustrated or angry would only make it worse.

 _It's definitely worse than last year_. He continued his breathing exercise as he minced the remnants of the Zebra-Shark Luffy had caught a few days prior. _But it's probably just because of the stress and fatigue though_. They had been sailing the New World for close to two weeks already, not hitting one island so far, and with the ocean as wild as it was, he was sure that that was the reason it was worse this time.

"ISLAAAAAAND!"

Sanji's head shot up at the sound of Luffy's shout, regretting it immediately as his vision swam for a second and a wave of nausea hit him. _That can't be right; Nami-swan said 3 or 4 more days._

"WHAAAAT?" He heard most of the crew shout in surprise, as whoops and shouts came from Luffy, Chopper and Usopp. Then the thumping of shoes hitting the floorboards came as they ran towards the front of the ship. He winced as the sound made the throbbing in his head feel like someone was hammering it with a sledgehammer. _Definitely worse than last year_.

He gingerly made his way to the door, trying to tread as lightly as he could to avoid any sudden movements. From there he could hear Luffy yelling and laughing at Nami for being wrong, and her screaming back that it was probably an uncharted island, and that she couldn't have known about it. He really wanted to run up there and kick Luffy for yelling at his beautiful flower like that, but he couldn't manage it. Instead he swallowed his shame of failing to be her knight in shining armour again, and went back to the kitchen, just as the timer for the oven went off. The sound was blaringly loud and he had to clutch his head with one hand as he took the steaming bread out of the oven. The smell should have been delicious, but it made his stomach churn instead. _Maybe I need to ask Chopper for some pain medication after all_ , he let out a shaky breath.

oOo

He wiped sweat from his brow as he finished setting the table, having managed to finish everything despite the constant waves of nausea and his steadily darkening peripheral vision. He steeled himself as he walked towards the door again, hating how his feet felt unsteady and how his body was shaking ever so slightly. He took a few deep breathes before he managed to yell that the food was ready, and then bit down on his cigarette as another wave of nausea hit him at the same time as a million needles stabbed his brain. It was all he could do to not run to the railing and empty the contents of his stomach overboard.

He didn't dance or sing or anything as the crew filtered into the dining area, and when Chopper was about to pass him he grabbed his shoulder. "Chopper, can you meet me in the infirmary after you're done eating?"

"Huh?" The little doctor stared up at him, "What, why? Are you feeling sick?"

"No, no, it's just a headache, don't worry. I just need some painkillers is all, but you go ahead and eat first." He squeezed his tiny shoulders. "I'll meet you down there," he smiled down at him, though it felt more like a grimace, before he walked off towards the sickbay doing his best to look as nonchalant and relaxed as he could, though with every step his vision swam and his brain felt like it was being torn to shreds.

As he reached the door to the infirmary, his vision had gone almost completely black. The tunnel vision had started just as he was starting his decent down the stairs, and he had had to hold onto the wall for support as his legs had started shaking uncontrollably with each step. He fell against the door as he worked on turning the handle, _just a little bit further, I can do this, I can do this, I can do this_. He put all his strength into the act of shoving the door open and fell forward as it swung open. _Shit, this is bad, this is really bad_. He needed to get to the bed; he couldn't let Chopper find him unconscious on the floor, if he could just reach the bed. But with each step he took, he felt as though cold water ran down his head and neck, and his vision was turning more and more black. _No, no, no_ …

oOo

"SANJI!"

From far away he heard a voice call out. He could not place it, nor could he understand it. Maybe it was a name of some kind? He let his eyes open and saw that it was night, or maybe it was dusk or maybe dawn? He was not sure. It was the colour of black and lilac and gold intertwined, but separate from each other just the same. _Where am I?_

"SANJI!"

There it was again, that voice, that high pitched voice that came from so far away. _Who is it?_ He thought he had said it, but for some odd reason it did not feel like he had. His lips had moved, or at least he thought they had. _Who are you?_ He tried to yell, but no sound came. He raised his head towards the sky and yelled it again, but yet again there was no sound. _What is this place?_

"Chopper, what's going on?"

Another voice? But to whom did it belong? He tried to think, it felt like he had heard it before. And that name, again it sounded so familiar, but the memory eluded him. He looked around, he wanted to find them, but instead he caught sight of something shining in the distance. A glinting light far away, it felt so warm and inviting, beckoning him towards it.

"It's Sanji! I don't know what happened-,"

It was a name, and he felt he should know it. Like an old friend he had forgotten, but could not recall.

"He told me he had a headache and he wanted some painkillers, b-but-"

A strange sensation filled his body as he listened. The high-pitched voice was crying now, but he did not understand why. All he knew was that he felt a deep need to help, though he had no idea how he could. As he pondered upon a way to find them and help them, he stroked his chin and found he had a goatee. A goatee? He was sure it had not been there before? Or maybe it had and he just now noticed? It was all starting to be ridiculously confusing he thought somberly. At least there was one thing that was not that, and that was that light that was shining so bright far in the distance. He felt his spirit lift however as he discovered it had gotten nearer. And as he looked down at his legs, they were moving him steadily closer to it. Why had he not noticed their movement before this time? He had had a body before this moment, had he not?

"H-he told me I should just eat first, and he didn't look like he was in too much pain, so I-I…"

Still that high-pitched voice was crying, and even though he did not know why, he felt an ache in his chest that was neither unwelcomed nor unknown to him. He knew the act of crying well, but as with nearly everything else, he was not sure why that was. He kept his gaze at that shining light that was in front of him. Yes, he could almost see it now. He felt it getting nearer with each step. A warm smile had made its way to his lips, though yet again he was not sure exactly why that was. But there was something about that shining light that called out to him, and pulled him towards it, and somehow he knew there was something there waiting for him. Something he had been waiting to see, for a long, long time.

Suddenly the earth shook beneath his feet, and he felt a sharp pain as his knees and hands scraped the hard earth. As he raised his head to look at that shining light again, he saw that it had gone. He moved his head in every direction, trying to find it again, no, needing to find it again. But no matter where he looked all that was there was the barren ground he sat on, and the odd sky which had yet to decide if it should be night, dusk or dawn. Then, without a warning, a bright light filled his vision and he could not see.

And then as suddenly as the light had come, it was gone, and there was nothing.

* * *

 **AN:**  
This is my first try at something other than a depressing story filled with angst and misery (See Try and Try Again, or my latest one-shot Mirrors), other than my one-shot The Strawhat Boys Play Never Have I Ever, which was my first try at humour.  
It's not your typical Halloween fic. I was supposed to have it done by Nov 1, but it turned out to be longer than I expected so it'll probably take a little bit longer than that.  
There will be **spoilers** from the Whole Cake Island Arc in later chapters.

I hope you like it, and please fav/follow and or leave a review if you want. I cherish any comment, good or bad, as I always strive to get better.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

He groaned as light suddenly hit his eye, "Mmm." He tried turning his head away from it, but it was held steady by something.

"Sanji?" Chopper's voice was almost inaudible.

He groaned again as the light had suddenly moved over to his other eye, "Ugh," his throat felt dry, "W-wha?" He tried to move his head away from the light again.

Chopper gave a sigh of relief, "Thank god!"

The light was suddenly turned off and something let go of his head, and he was finally able to move it again. He closed his eyes before opening them slowly. As he tried to focus however, there were only spots dancing in front of him. He closed his eyes and opened them again. Still there were only spots. "I…" he coughed and he felt it rasp the inside of his throat, "I- I can't see…" he coughed again and hissed at the stinging pain that accompanied it. "Drink…"

"That's normal; it'll clear up in a moment," It sounded like Chopper was trying to assure him, but he wasn't sure how sincere it was, "hang on."

Sanji heard the little doctor turn and pick something up not far from him, before he felt his head being lifted up and a glass was pushed to his lips. He parted them slowly and felt a liquid slowly trickle down into his mouth, it tasted disgusting, but he swallowed it and felt it soothe the pain. "Ugh, what the fuck was that?" He coughed again; this time without it feeling like sandpaper was scraping him up inside.

"Cough syrup, nausea relief and pain medication." Chopper answered him grimly as he felt his head being lowered down onto the pillow again.

"Ah, so I did end up throwing up after all then," he said dejectedly as he blinked a few more times. There was no change; he just couldn't seem to get the spots away.

"Yeah, and quite a few times as well, I had to put you on an I-V as you were losing so much fluid." Chopper sounded distraught, but Sanji had no way of knowing the extent of it and it was slowly starting to piss him off. He wanted his damn sight back.

"What?" There was definitely concern in Chopper's voice. That, Sanji could identify.

"I still can't see…" He sighed.

"You can't?" He heard Choppers footsteps walk around the room, clearly looking for something.

"No, only thing I see are dancing spots of different colours of white and yellow." He blinked again, "It's starting to piss me off," he growled.

"O-okay, let me check them again," Sanji heard Chopper click on something and he could clearly see a change in the spots as a brighter light hit his eyes. He wanted to pull them shut, but they wouldn't close. "Lay still, I know it's uncomfortable."

He tried not to huff as he resigned himself to go through with the assault on his eyes, at least it didn't hurt much thankfully.

"Hmm, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with the retina or the optic disc," the light flashed a few times and Sanji had to do everything in his might to not squeeze his eyes shut. "Nothing on the lens, pupil or the cornea-," he noticed as the light moved back and forth in front of him, "the aqueous humor seems fine," the light clicked off. "You did notice the change in light, right?"

"Yeah, it kinda hurt too," he furrowed his brows and looked towards where he imagined Chopper was, "is that good?"

"It is…" It sounded like he was hesitating.

"But?"

"It's just, since your eyes seem to be fine, there-" he heard the little reindeer swallow audibly, "there might be something wrong in your brain instead," he heard the slight quiver in Chopper's voice as he said it.

"Like what?" He tried not to make it a growl, but he knew it had come out harsher than he wanted to.

"I- I don't know yet, I have to do some tests to see," He heard Chopper jump down to the floor and scurry over to the other end of the room, "but you should close your eyes; the light might be making it worse."

He sighed, but did as he was told and shut his eyes. Thankfully the spots weren't as ubiquitous when he did so, and it made him relax a little. He seriously hoped Chopper would be able to fix it; he would be useless if he lost his eyes. "Hey, did we ever get to that island?"

"Oh, yeah, we-" He heard the hesitation in Chopper's voice, "we got here a few hours ago," he trailed off.

"A few hours ago, huh?" He sighed with relief at that; he hadn't been out that long then.

"Yeah, we arrived not long after you collapsed, but it's mostly been Luffy, Nami, Robin and Zoro who has explored it yet," He heard Chopper put something heavy on his desk, _probably a book of some kind_. "Nami said it's an autumn island, and that it's full of pumpkins." He heard him flip through some pages. "I haven't seen it yet though," there was an unmistakingly longing in his voice as he said it, and Sanji felt his heart ache a little as he knew he was the reason Chopper hadn't been able to run outside and enjoy the new island.

"I think I'm gonna try getting some sleep, why don't you go and enjoy the island a little," he turned his head, still with his eyes closed, towards where he thought he remembered Chopper's desk was, and smiled at the little doctor, "I'm sure my eyes, and brain, will be able to wait a few more hours."

"B-but," He heard the hesitation in Chopper's voice at that, he knew the little guy had difficulty leaving a patient if there was still something wrong, but if he had been out for several hours already, a few more hours probably wouldn't hurt. Besides, he was starting to feel a little drowsy.

"I'll be fine, besides the other's will want to know what's going on as well," he hated the fact that everyone would know about his lack of eyesight, but it couldn't be helped, they were nakama and they had a right to know, no matter how much it hurt his pride.

Before he heard anymore from the little doctor however, he felt himself drifting off.

oOo

The cold earth felt cool against his back and he had a mind to stay there just a little bit longer, but as he took a deep breath he felt his eyes open. He was lying on the ground, or at least it felt like it. It was not hard, but neither was it soft, it reminded him of the earth on a forest floor. Though as he gazed upon the perplexing sky not a single tree was in his sight. How he knew the way a forest floor felt, he was not sure, but he found that it did not really matter.

As he lay there he knew he had to get up and move. He had a feeling there was something he had to do, something he had to find. But as he tried to lift his body, he felt his movements lethargic and slow, or maybe it was the world that had halted its pace. _It does not matter_ , he thought as he fought to stand up. He let his feet support him as he stood for a while, just feeling the body as it pulsed with life. And yet, it did not feel like his own. It felt too tight, but also too loose. He frowned. Could a body even feel like that? He brought up his hand to look at it; the movement so agonizingly slow despite his effort to quicken its pace. He felt how it frustrated him, though he was unsure why. Once he held it in front of his face, he saw the pale skin and long fingers. They were just like he knew they would be, but even so, they did not feel right.

Drip…

Letting his hand fall back to his side, again halted in its movement, he let his gaze trail over the barren landscape stretched before him. And even though he knew the sky would be the same as it had been once before, confusion showed upon his brow. He felt how his eyebrows furrowed at the thought, the sensation odd, but not unknown. _Once before?_ Had he really been here before? It all felt so familiar somehow, but yet he did not know why or how. He turned around, again his movement so agonizingly slow, and while he wanted to grit his teeth in frustration, he also wondered why? Why was it making him feel that way? Could it be that it was not natural? But why should he move faster? What was the point of that?

Drip… Drip…

As he kept turning around so slowly it nearly hurt, his eyes scanned the world around him. He felt that something should be there; he just did not know what it was. Then he caught something in his peripheral, something that was shining brightly, but as soon as his eyes focused on that spot it was gone. When he looked away from it, it reappeared. He had to stop himself from gritting his teeth in frustration yet again. He wanted to see it, he needed to see it. And then almost before he had thought it, he had started moving towards it, albeit still as slow as before. He realised now, the reason he felt so frustrated about it; he was in a hurry. Though yet again, he did not know why.

Drip...

As suddenly as it had started his body halted its movement, and he felt himself straining his ears. What was that sound? He looked towards where he knew the shining light would be, and again it vanished as soon as his eyes reached it. His hand balled up in a fist in anger, but he let himself stand still as he listened.

Drip…

It was a sound, but of what, and from where?

Drip…

Water? Yes, that made sense. Or, he thought, as much sense as anything could in this barren wasteland, where there was only a shining light far in the distance and a sky in constant flux.

Drip…

He turned his body slowly, trying to find the source of it, but it came from all around him. And for each fraction of a second it came, its volume grew increasingly louder.

Drip…

It was starting to hurt, though he did not know how. How could a sound, albeit so omnipresent and deafening, be this excruciating?

Drip…

He fell to his knees, the sound vibrating around him. He felt it wrap itself around him, strangling him and restraining him.

Drip…

He squeezed his eyes shut and covered his ears with his hands as he clutched his head. _Stop!_ _Please, I beg of you, make it stop!_

Drip...

* * *

 **AN** :  
I hope you like it so far, and please fav/follow and or leave a comment if you did. Any feedback is appreciated, good or bad.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Drip… Drip… Drip…

Sanji felt himself clench and unclench his jaw with each rhythmic beat of the sound, it was grating on his nerves. He knew it was the steady sound of dripping in the I-V, but it was so damn loud. He didn't know how long he had been awake, all he knew was that it had been long enough for him to become increasingly pissed off at that noise, and about the fact that he really needed to go take a piss. He hadn't tried opening his eyes again yet though, and he would be damned if he ever acknowledged it, but he was afraid. The thought that he still might not have his sight back was making him hesitate. Behind his closed eyelids he had noticed that the amount of dancing spots had diminished, but it had been replaced with shining golden threads instead. He let out a frustrated growl; he was being foolish.

 _I didn't come all this way just to be defeated by something as stupid as momentarily blindness._ He clenched his jaw shut and took a deep breath; before he slowly let his eyelids rise. He had barely opened them a fraction however, before a piercing light hit them and he shut them again. _What the hell?_

He tried lifting his hand to rub them, but found that he couldn't move it; in fact, as he tried to move any part of his body it refused to listen. "Nnnn," He needed to get someone's attention, but he hadn't heard anyone move or make a sound since he'd woken up. "Nnnn," he tried moving his head again, nothing. "Shit, fuck!" He had wanted it to come out as a shout, but it was barely above a whisper. _What the hell is going on?_

Just then the door creaked open slowly. The sound was so earsplittingly loud that he thought his ears might have started bleeding, and he was sure that the whimper that escaped him at that moment would haunt him forever.

"SANJI?" He knew Chopper had said it with a calm voice, but it sounded more like he had screamed it on the top of his lungs.

"Nnnn, not so loud," it came out as barely a whisper, and he again tried to move his body, "Ugh, can't move."

"What?" Chopper had moved over to him, and relief washed over him when he heard him whisper it.

"Can't-," he strained his muscles, trying to make something move, "move my-," there was nothing, not even a twitch, "fucking body."

He heard Chopper do a sharp intake of breath, if it was in shock or fear he wasn't sure, but he didn't like that reaction. "W-what's happening to me Chopper?"

"I-I don't know Sanji," Chopper still spoke in a low whisper, but there was a high-pitched edge to it as if the little doctor was restraining himself hard to not make a lot of noise. "It hasn't even been ten minutes yet since you fell asleep," he heard Chopper climb onto his chair, the squeaking was like knifes cutting through his eardrums, "I just went to tell the others, since you wanted me to let them know…"

 _Not even ten minutes, but how_? He knew he had to have been lying there awake for at least a minute already. Had he really not gotten more than a few minutes sleep? But his head felt fine, apart from the whole blindness thing, and the sudden extreme over-sensitivity towards noise. He didn't have a headache anymore and he wasn't nauseous either. He was in fact wide awake and in soon to be in desperate need of a toilet.

He felt something touching his hand and lifting it up, he tried to fight against the motion, knowing that Chopper was probably testing his mobility. But there was no response; he had no control over it at all.

"Um… Chopper," He hesitated.

He heard the little doctor gasp, and he winced at the sharpness of the sound it made, "You- you can't feel this?"

"I can, I just can't do anything to aid the motion or fight against it." He sighed, "But that wasn't what…" He trailed off.

"Oh, okay good, that's better than nothing." He felt his hand being lowered down again, but Chopper didn't let it go, "what is it?"

"Ah…" he hated this part of being bedridden, "I-, I need to piss…" He hated how childish he sounded, he was a grown man for fucks sake, he shouldn't need help going to the fucking toilet. He wanted to groan and rub his face, but he couldn't move his damn body.

"I- I can put in a catheter if you want?" Chopper sounded apprehensive, and Sanji knew why.

"No!" He growled, "I'd rather bear the humiliation of having to be carried and helped like a toddler than living through that hell again." He felt an involuntarily shudder go through his body at the thought of it. _Well at least I still have some unconscious movements, that's something._ "I still have control down there, and I want to keep it."

"O-okay then, just wait a second and I'll help you," he heard Chopper jump down on the floor, and the unmistaken sound of him switching to his humanoid form was far too loud.

"H-hang on," he gritted his teeth. "Can-, can you cover my ears with something? Everything is so damn loud; it feels like my ears are bleeding."

"Oh, yeah, just a second." He heard as Chopper rummaged through something, and the noise was almost deafening. He gritted his teeth as he was unable to shut it out, he desperately wanted to cover his ears with his hands, but they were just as unresponsive as they had been a moment before.

He heard Chopper breathe an "aha", before coming over to him again. "I- I don't know how well they'll work, but it's the best I can do right now," he felt the large furry hands touch his head before it was turned to one side, and then he felt something being put into his ear. It felt as though his ear had been submerged in water. Then his head was turned to the other side, and the same happened to his other ear. It was bliss, pure bliss.

"How's that?" He heard Chopper ask, but it was muffled and a lot quieter.

"Better," he sighed.

"Do you want me to cover your eyes as well, or are you fine keeping them shut on your own?"

He had been doing a good job keeping them closed by himself up to this point, but he didn't know how well he would keep his restraint on it once he was lifted up and carried around. And it would be even worse if he by some chance heard his beautiful ladies speak. "I think that would be a good idea," he said a bit dejectedly.

"Okay," he heard the sigh Chopper let out at that, but he wasn't sure it was out of relief or worry; it was harder to tell now that all the sounds around him had been substantially subdued. He wasn't able to think more about it however as something was pushed over his head and covered half his face and ears, subduing the noise even more.

"That okay?" He barely heard Chopper ask him, and he could feel himself smile a little at that.

"Yeah, it's perfect."

"Okay, I'm gonna lift you up now, and if anything hurts you have to tell me right away okay!" Chopper's stern doctor's voice made him want to grin.

"Yes, doctor."

oOo

It hadn't hurt, and apart from the humiliation of the whole thing, it had gone pretty well. He suspected Chopper had given strict orders to the others to leave the infirmary area alone while he was out of commission. Probably knowing, or at least suspecting noise would become an issue at some point. But he could be wrong. He had at least not heard anyone around them when Chopper had helped him through the whole humiliating ordeal.

"I'm going to start doing some tests on you now, okay?" Chopper said meekly as he laid him back onto the bed.

"Okay," he said gruffly, "What kind of tests?"

"Well, I need to take some blood samples for one," there was a brief pause, and Sanji wished again that he could have seen his face, he was so much better at reading peoples, or humanoids he corrected himself, face's than their voices, and it was especially hard now that his ears were muffled as well. "I might have to do a lumbar puncture-"

"A what?"

"A lumbar puncture, or spinal tap if you will, it just means that I have to insert a needle into your spine and collect some cerebrospinal fluid," He heard Chopper say calmly as if it was just as normal as taking a blood sample, "But, that's only if I find something in your blood first," he suddenly rushed to add, and Sanji guessed it was because another involuntary shiver had run through his body at the mention of a needle.

"Okay, and what if you don't find anything?" He tried not to sound too anxious, but he wanted Chopper to be honest with him, he needed to know how screwed he was.

"I don't know, there are so many things that might be causing your problems, and it'll take me time to test for all of them." He listened as Chopper went around the room collecting vials and other things as they clinked together, he was now very thankful his ears had been muffled. "I'm going to be checking for clotting and other things that might indicate a blockage in your arteries first of all," he felt Chopper touch his arm suddenly and to his surprise he felt it flinch. That was all though, and he frowned as he tried to move it again and nothing happened.

"Did-, did you do that Sanji?"

"Not voluntarily, no," he said through clenched teeth as he continued to try and force his hand to move again.

"That's strange."

"How so?" He could feel himself starting to sweat from the excursion.

"Well, it doesn't fit with the symptoms of any of the illnesses I've thought could be the cause."

"Not any of them?"

"No, also the fact that you can still speak coherently and clearly is a sign of it being something I haven't encountered before."

Cold dread ran down his spine at that. "Does that mean there's nothing you can do?"

"Don't be stupid! Of course there is, it'll just take a little longer finding the cause is all." He heard the clear hurt in Choppers voice, but there were also a determination there Sanji rarely heard from the little guy. "Now, I'm going to take four vials of blood, okay?" He felt Chopper tie something around his bicep and tighten it, "I'm going to count to three before I stick the needle in so you'll have time to prepare for it. One-"

"I'm not a child damnit!" Sanji growled.

"Two-"

He took a deep breath and slowly let it out, trying to calm his nerves. He hated needles, and he was almost glad he was blinded now so he didn't have to see it.

"Three-"

He hissed loudly as he felt the sharp stab in his elbow as the needle was pushed through his skin and into the artery. He had never been so hyper-aware of the feeling of his blood being drained from him as he was now, and it was making him uneasy. Usually he would have had something to focus his gaze upon, something to distract him with. But now there was nothing. He heard as each vial was picked up, filled and placed back in the container and for each one he was getting more and more light-headed.

"I'm getting dizzy," he mumbled as Chopper was filling the final vial.

"Almost done," he thought he heard a trace of panic in the young doctor's voice as he said it, but as he was about to ask if something was wrong he found he couldn't form the words. His mind felt like it was being filled with cotton and it was getting harder and harder to have a coherent thought, the only word left in his mind before it went dark was, _shit_.

oOo

It was quiet. Completely and totally devoid of sound and he sighed with relief.

He was lying on the ground again. Yes, again. He knew now, he had been here many times before. He let his eyes open and stared up at the flux sky, letting himself drown in its infinity for a few moments, before he gingerly sat up and took a deep breath. He relished in the fact that the world seemed to again move at a speed he could comply with.

He allowed himself to move his hands over his body, feeling every inch of it, making sure it was all there. It was a strange feeling, being able to feel every part of it so intensely and simultaneously feeling so disconnected from it. He felt the tightening of his muscles as he stretched his legs, and the tingling in his toes as he wiggled them inside the black shoes he saw he was wearing. He frowned at the sensations; they felt so odd, almost as if they were artificially real. He shook his head. Maybe that was how it was supposed to be, and he had only thought of it as strange because he had imagined it should feel different. He stared up at the sky again; it was as it always had been, in flux between dusk, night and dawn. There were no stars and no moon he could focus his gaze upon and so he felt himself staring out into the endless expanse of it.

He wanted to lie back down again, to cross his arms underneath his head and use them as a pillow, so he could gaze into that infinity just a little longer. But he knew that would be a mistake, he needed to get up, to stand on those legs and to move them.

As he felt the weight of his body supported by those long legs he felt a warmth surge through him. Like a piece of the puzzle had finally been put in the right spot. He lifted one of them as high as he could, stretching it over his head until it was taut. He was amazed but not surprised by it, like he knew he could do it but had forgotten how until the moment he did it.

As he lowered it back down and let the sole tread fully onto the ground he felt it, a tug, or more like a pull from something behind him. But he did not jump at it, or turn around towards it in shock. He just breathed in the crisp air, and smiled.

As he was about to turn around and greet it, a pain so strong he gasped for breath pierced his back. His vision blurred and he felt like he was drowning; he wanted to scream but found he could not, yet again, make a sound. He felt his knees hit the ground as another agonising pain pierced his spine. _What is going on?_

He tried to draw his breath, but his lungs would not comply with his demand, and for each torturous second that passed he felt his vision steadily darken, until everything was gone.

* * *

 **AN** : Why do I always torture Sanji? Good question, maybe because he's my favourite?  
Anyway, hope you are enjoying the story so far, and as always please fav/follow and or leave a review if you do.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

It was pain, hot searing, white pain he hadn't felt for a long time. Not since… Sanji's eyes shot open and he looked around wildly, there were golden threads everywhere. He shut his eyes and opened them again, _no, no, no;_ he was surrounded in a sea of golden threads. He tried seeing through it, to find something to anchor his sight on, but the more he stared into it, the more blinding it got. Then he realised what had dragged him back to consciousness, a flash of searing pain shot up through his spine. He felt himself lying on his side held down by someone, as something was stabbed slowly into his back. "Fuck!" He screamed so loudly he felt the whole room shake. _Not again, not again, not again_!

"Fucking hell cook!"

He felt the hands holding him down lessen for a fraction before pinning him down again, "Chopper, I thought you said he was sedated?"

"He was!" Chopper's voice came out as a terrified squeak compared to the roar the marimo had just let out.

"Then why the fuck did he wake up?"

"I- I don't know! I'm so sorry Sanji, I thought you'd be out cold for at least another hour, I'm doing the lumbar puncture, so I knew it would hurt, but I thought that since you were already out after I took the blood samples and I used localized anaesthesia it would be fine to do this too-"

"Chopper you're rambling," he gritted his teeth, even with his ears muffled their voices were so loud it felt like it vibrated inside his head. "It's-, it's fine, just get it over with." He closed his eyes, shutting out the world of golden threads and took a few deep breathes.

It felt like hours, or days had gone by before Chopper finally took the needle out of his back. It had been pure torture; every tiny movement of the needle had felt like someone slowly stabbed him with a sword over and over again. He had growled at Chopper to make him go quicker, but their tiny doctor had refused because it was a risqué procedure that required him to be very precise. And it hadn't helped that the mosshead had been there too, growling back at him when he weren't able to kick his ass. And every time he had spat back an insult, Chopper had chastised him for it because the movement in his chest when he spoke made his back vibrate. He could only imagine the smug look on the bastard mosshead's face as he no doubt got a kick out of watching him suffer.

He wanted a cigarette, and he was almost, almost to the point of begging for one.

"How long do I have to lie like this?" He growled after the marimo had finally left. Lying in fetal position was all fine and well, but it had been almost an hour and it was starting to fucking hurt damn it.

"A few more hours at least," Chopper said sternly, "I need to make sure the puncture has sealed up properly first, and there's also a high risk of you starting to throw up again so I want you on your side just in case."

 _Fantastic! Just perfect!_ Not only was he unable to move an inch as pillows had been packed around him so he wouldn't fall over on his back, but his body still wouldn't listen to him, and he was also slowly getting a headache again. "Can you at least give me something to knock me out with? I'm starting to get another fucking headache."

"No, I need you awake in case something happens, and that's normal, though I had hoped with you lying on your side during the procedure we would avoid that from happening," he heard Chopper moving around the room, and there was a low puttering of something boiling not far from him. "I actually wanted to ask about that, your headache, how bad was it really when you told me to see you before lunch?"

He groaned. He wasn't surprised Chopper wouldn't allow him to fall into the bliss of unconsciousness, but that didn't stop him from getting annoyed at it. "Around an eight, I suppose."

Chopper let out a hum at that, and he could hear a pen scraping against some paper. "And what does that mean? How long had it been going on?"

Of course Chopper would be making notes of it; he was surprised the young doctor hadn't asked about it before to be honest. "It started just as I woke up, but like any another migraine I've been having, it was just a little pressure, nothing I wasn't used to already. But then it started increasing faster than I've ever experienced it, so I guess it went from a two to a nine in the span of an hour." He tried thinking back to the hour before passing out, "I started getting nauseous just after Luffy yelled that there was an island, and I steadily started losing my peripheral not long after that." He wanted to move, he felt a desperate need to scratch his neck as he was thinking, "When I called you all in for lunch I was barely able to stand upright, then as I went down the stairs I started getting tunnel vision and I barely had any energy to get through the door," He strained his mind to try and move that damn arm, but it wouldn't budge, "The when I finally managed to get it open I fell through it and all the blood drained from my head, and as I tried moving to the bed it went black."

All the while he had been talking Chopper had scribbled furiously, but hadn't said anything.

"So you've been having migraines? How do they feel when you have them? Is the pain located in one area, is it moving around, or is it a perpetual feeling in the whole head? Also what kind of pain is it? Is it a stabbing, pulsating or throbbing sensation?" Chopper was using a tone Sanji had never heard him use before; it didn't waver or hesitate as he asked the questions. It was purely factual, down to business, no nonsense, and Sanji had a feeling that this was Chopper's true doctor's voice, one he only used when he was deeply concentrating on getting information out of them. _He must be really worried_.

"It's the whole head, like a belt is wrapped around it, and it's mostly throbbing." He – needed – to – scratch – his – damn – neck! "But it usually starts going between stabbing and throbbing when it goes over a six." If Chopper was truly that worried, he would give him as much facts as he could, to hell with his need for secrecy about it, and his worry of needlessly making the crew fear for his wellbeing. He still felt a desperate need to move his body however, to fidget and keep his hands occupied, and he desperately needed a cigarette.

"Hmm, so mostly tension migraines that will increase to cluster," he heard the rapid scratching of the pen, "Have you had any neck or shoulder pain? I know you just had a dislocated shoulder, which I know hurt like a bitch-," Sanji nearly gaped at the harsh language Chopper had just used, "but I'm thinking more the lines of tension, uncomfortable stretching sensations when you move, a perpetual need to roll your shoulders or crack you joints."

Sanji thought about it, he'd always had tension in his neck and shoulders, but it had mostly been at night after a particularly stressful day in the kitchen, when he had been standing all day without a break. But, now? Yes, it had been getting worse since the first day of autumn harvest. He hadn't even noticed it; he had been too occupied with the fucking migraines. In fact, it had been like that since it had happened the first time all those years ago. "Yes, ever since I was around nine, but," he hesitated, was he really going to put this on Chopper? Yes he had agreed with himself to give Chopper as much information as he could, but he also knew how ridiculous it would sound, and he knew how much it would piss the young doctor off to know he had kept it from him.

"But?"

He felt the intense urge to clutch his nose, and scrunched up his face in frustration when he yet again couldn't do anything, "but, it's always been worse during autumn harvest. It's the same with the migraines." He wanted to open his eyes and look at the little reindeer, to see his reaction, but he kept them closed as there were still faint traces of golden threads even now, and he knew it would be even worse if he opened them. "I mean-," he searched his brain to find the right words to explain himself, "the migraines always starts on the first day, just a light headache that's just there in the back of my mind, and then it gets steadily worse each day until the final day when it's almost unbearable." He furrowed his brows, he still felt he wasn't explaining it properly, like there was more he should say about it, but it was ridiculous. "It's never been like this before though, I've never gone blind or lost all mobility in my body," but that wasn't really true though, was it. "Well, at least, it hasn't happened this early."

"You mean this has happened before?" There was an edge to Chopper's voice that hadn't been there before.

"Not-, not like this," he could feel the piercing stare Chopper was undoubtedly giving him, "I've never had it this bad or over such a long period of time," he – needed – to – fidget, all the thinking and straining to move his body was making his head hurt more and more. "I've had spells of it, only a few seconds at the time when I've just woken up, but it's always just been during the last few days."

He heard Chopper let out a huff, "And then? What happens after Halloween?" There was still an edge to his voice.

"It goes back to normal like it never happened." He muttered. He knew it wasn't a normal illness, 'cause who the fuck had an illness that only happened during the autumn harvest and ended right after the celebration of Samhain? It was nothing short of ridiculous. He had hoped this time it was just a regular illness of some kind; he'd tried to convince himself of it, so that he could also convince Chopper about it. Had it really been worth it to keep it from him, though? The stabbing pain in his back, and the slight aching pressure on his hip and thigh because of the way he was laying was slowly making him regret not telling him the truth sooner.

"Uh-huh, and you didn't think to tell me any of this before, because?" Chopper was pissed, no, he was livid. Sanji could feel the heat of fury rolling off him in waves, and as much as it pained him to admit it, it scared the shit out of him.

"I-," What was his excuse? That he was sure it was just a coincidence? That was bullshit. That he didn't want to make the little guy worry? That was true, but the real truth was that he had absolutely no good reason for it that wouldn't make the little doctor explode. "I don't have a good answer for that," he wanted to kick himself for how small and pitiful his voice sounded.

Even though he didn't hear it, he could almost feel how Chopper was gritting his teeth, no doubt trying not to yell in fury at him. He wanted to move, to bolt out of the room and get away from the little guy before he exploded on him, but all he could do was squeeze his eyes shut even more and wait. But instead of the tirade he was expecting he heard fast footsteps cross the room and then the door slamming shut so hard the room shook around him. He winced at the sound as it cut through his muffled ears and pierced his skull, but that was also the last thing he heard before the world went black.

oOo

He stared up into the infinity of the flux sky, breathing in that sweet autumn air. It was crisp, but not quite freezing like on a winter's day. As he focused on it he could feel a slight eagerness go through his body as a fragrance he had long forgotten wafted by him. It had been so long since he had had that sensation, and he had forgotten how alive it made him feel. How long had it been? It felt like eons or maybe even more, but he knew. It had only been twelve years.

He raised his head, and though he was content at finally remembering, he felt a slight annoyance at having been so rudely interrupted. He let a deep breath fill his lungs and exhaled it slowly before he got to his feet once more.

"You're early!" The voice was sharp, but melodic and fluid. Like silk caught in a sudden breeze.

He smiled a little to himself before he turned around towards the tugging at his back, not hastily or impetuously, but calmly as to savour the moment before he would gaze upon its grace and radiance once again.

"I am?" He studied it with a warm smile on his face. He had missed it, deeply and longingly for so long.

"Yes!" It had never spoken many words, and sometimes it had not said anything at all in the moments of their meeting. But he loved it all the same, an unwavering infatuation that never lessened no matter how far he travelled or how long they were apart.

"Then will I have to wait here with you?" The feeling started in his legs; he could not quite place it. It felt like warm fire danced along them, engulfing them in a burning heath that did not harm him. As he glanced down at them there was nothing but black cloth surrounding them. He frowned. The body still did not feel like his own.

"You seem troubled?" Its voice flowed like a gentle stream in a forest clearing, and he raised his head towards it, still feeling the warm fire moving through his body. It did not worry him, but instead he felt it calm him further.

"It is nothing to worry about my sweet camellia; it has just been a long journey to finally gaze upon your beauty once again." He felt a yearning need to touch that beauty, to drink it in and drown in its libation. But he knew he could not, because as beautiful as it was to gaze upon, it was capricious and mercurial, and he did not want to see it change.

"You shame me." It turned away from him and he felt an ache in his chest as it did so. Its movement so languid, but yet so graceful, it was painful to see.

"I did not mean you ill-will." He sighed. And as he watched it start to move away, he went to walk beside it, to bask in the rays of its shining light.

"I will have you find them. They are scattered."

A look of deep contemplation came upon his face as he lifted his head to gaze into the infinite expanse of the starless sky, "Who must I find first?"

"The boy."

* * *

 **AN** : It might be a few days until the next chapter is released, I suddenly got swarmed with work, but don't worry, I'm currently working on chapter 9, I just want to stay ahead of the story as I release it.  
As always, please fav/follow and or review if you enjoyed it.  
(btw, camellia is a flower and not the name of what you are imagining he is talking to)


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

The boy.

He could not deny it, he was a little surprised. The boy had been there then, yes, but he had not believed him to be ready again so soon, or ever at all. He hummed to himself, _he should not be hard to find_.

He walked among the gnarled trees, their darkened naked branches twisting and bending. He should probably not have found them beautiful, but as he gazed upon them where they stood, bathed in the colours of the ever present flux of the sky above him, he could not help loving their gruesomeness. He had thanked it over and over again, showered it in adoration and promises of eternal love, as it had led him to the forests edge. It had not said another word, but he had not ceased his ramblings of devotion. Now that he finally walked among the trees alone, he felt like he had finally found his way back home.

As he walked on the path laid ahead for him, he wondered what the boy would say when they met. This would be their second meeting since their bond had been forged, and he wondered if he would remember anything at all. Would he be upset or glad this time around? Would he refuse it or take it eagerly?

oOo

Sanji groaned as he stretched his body. He was lying on something hard and cold. _Wait? I stretched? I moved?_ He stretched again, feeling all his muscles obey him again. He couldn't believe it, he had been trying for hours before he had blacked out again in the infirmary, but nothing had worked. He raised his hand to his face, and as he felt his skin underneath his fingers, he let out a strangled sound that could as easily been a sob as well as laugh. He moved his other hand next to him, feeling the cool surface of something hard beneath him.

 _Where the fuck am I?_

He still had his eyes closed; the fear that he might only see the shining golden threads was still there. But as he focused on the insides of his eyelids, their faint glow wasn't there anymore. He gently moved his hand over his eyes, rubbing them slowly; he noticed how it changed from a dark lilac to almost pitch black. _Just like it's always been_. He moved his hand down to his ear, there was nothing in them. He frowned as he clearly heard the sound of his fingers tracing the shell of it as he did it, but it didn't pierce his eardrums. _What the hell?_

He gingerly let his arm fall to the ground again, before lifting himself up in a sitting position. He was sore and his back was stiff, but it didn't hurt that much, and the fear that he might induce a headache vanished as nothing came. No shooting pain up is neck, no throbbing belt being wrapped around his head, nothing. He moved his head in all directions; his neck popped a few times, but there was no pain what so ever.

He covered his eyes with his hands, he needed to try. He gently opened them, first a fraction before closing them again, nothing, just the darkness inside his palms. He breathed a sigh before trying again, a little further this time. Same thing, there was only darkness. He took a deep breath and opened them fully; blinked once and then let them stay open a little, letting them get accustomed to being open before closing them again. He took a deep breath again before taking his hands away and blinked once. The light was bright and it hurt, but as far as he could tell there hadn't been any golden threads. He tried again and blinked twice. It hurt like a bitch, but he smiled brightly. There were no threads, and he had seen some small details through his foggy eyes.

It took him several minutes with blinking and pausing before his vision had come back fully. And as he was finally able to look around properly, he saw that he was sitting on some kind of stone dais, in the middle of what was unmistakably a graveyard, surrounded by darkened gnarled trees. He got a sudden flashback to Thriller Bark and stayed as still as he could. The ground could be crawling with zombies and what not, he grimaced at the thought. He looked to the sky and frowned, the colour was weird. He couldn't put his finger on it, it was like it was in flux between night, dusk and dawn, but brighter. Fine this was the New World, and Nami had told them how weird the islands could be here, but still.

Sitting there silently wondering just how the fuck he'd gotten there, he unconsciously went to his pocket, fished out a cigarette and lit it up. It wasn't until he had taken his second puff he noticed he was smoking, he frowned. _Didn't Chopper confiscate these from me when I was out cold? He usually does that._ He plucked out the cigarette case from his jacket and counted them, eight left, meaning he was holding the ninth. He frowned, but then shook his head, it was probably nothing.

Suddenly a light flitted through the trees in his peripheral, too fast for him to see what it was, but he felt a bead of sweat roll down between his shoulder blades. He had been sitting there too long; he was too out in the open, an easy prey.

He gingerly got to his feet, careful to keep his senses trained on the forest around him. His body was stiff and sore and he hated how he felt a little unsteady. He knew he hadn't eaten anything for probably a whole day, and had, according to Chopper, thrown up so much he had been put on an I-V; he needed to find something to eat, and then he needed to find the crew.

Testing his legs he took a few tentative steps towards the edge of the dais. Looking back and down at it, he could see it had a mark in the middle of it where he had been laying. It looked like three feathers with a knotted pattern around them. He frowned, he felt he had seen it before somewhere, he just couldn't recall where. He shook his head, it didn't matter. He needed to get some cover, it wasn't safe there.

He quickly and stealthily made his way over to the forest, being careful not to step on any branches or fallen leaves, as he feared they might snap under his feet. He knew he needed to find something to eat, but as he hadn't heard any sounds of movement other than his own, he wasn't sure there was anything else living around him other than himself. Looking around at the trees, he saw one that was taller than the others, which also had some branches hanging low enough for him to climb up on. It was safer than using his sky-walk, as that made too much noise and would give away his position, in case there actually was something hostile close by after all. He climbed up as silently and slowly as he could, so that the branches wouldn't sway when he moved between them. Once perched on the highest one, he gasped.

In every direction there was nothing but never ending forest, and he was sure the graveyard was the only clearing for several miles. _Where the fuck am I?_

"He will need your help."

He nearly lost the grip on the branch as a voice as soft as silk pierced his mind. Looking around wildly he saw, nothing. "Wha-," he swallowed thickly, "What?"

"He is not far."

The silky voice pierced through his mind again, and he clutched the branch to stay as still as he could, before he reared his head in every direction trying to find the source of it. "Who- Who are you?"

"Find him."

The voice was so beautiful, like the final breath of warm summer air, and though he knew that he should be annoyed that he couldn't see the source of it, he instead felt like he could just float away with it. "Why?" he found himself asking, though the question on his tongue had been to ask it for its name.

"He will need your help."

He let his eyes roam over the forest canopy, he wanted to find the source of that smoot and melodic voice, but it was futile. "Who do you need me to find?"

But there came no answer.

oOo

He felt each step as they touched the ground on the path, and relished in the feeling of just moving soundlessly. The body had finally become his own. It had been too long since he had walked this road. Too long since he had felt the light breeze caress his face. He hummed to himself as he smelled the crisp air, and found himself smiling when he recognised its fragrance.

"He is the key."

He looked around to see it, but did not halt his steps, its rays of light warm against his cheeks. "I had assumed he was," He smiled thoughtfully. "So he is ready?"

"He will help. Trust him."

He breathed in its sweet fragrance and nodded. "If that is what you wish of me, then it will be my honour."

"Wait for him."

And then it was gone, swept away with a falling leaf caught in the autumn breeze. He sighed and let his eyes find the pathways end, the clearing he had been longing to see again. He pondered upon what it had said; yes there always needed to be a key, and he wondered again if he would recognise him after so long.

As he stepped through the iron gates he felt a deep sorrow at the sight that met him. True, he had been gone for so long and should have been prepared for what would meet him, but he had perhaps held on to a childish hope that it would be the same as when he had left it behind all those twelve years ago. He walked soundlessly past each stone and cross, and silently caressed the weeping angel's arm, before he made his way to the dais.

He sat down on his knees in front of the first step and bowed his head. A silent tear escaped his cerulean eye and travelled down his cheek as he grieved for the state of his home, how it had yet again been taken over by the sickness of the forest, and for the graves he had not been able to tend.

oOo

Sanji held his breath as he listened for the voice, hoping it would come back so he could find the source of it. It had to be beautiful, nothing with such a voice could ever be ugly, he was sure of it. But it was silent, eerily silent.

He felt a drop of sweat trail down his back, it was making him uneasy. A forest as big as this should be full of noise, even if it would just be from the the wind hitting the branches, but there was nothing. He scanned the canopy again, trying to find the sea he knew had to lie just beyond it, where his crew would no doubt be running around calling out for him. How long had he been here?

Chopper would probably be beside himself with worry, Luffy would be tearing the ship apart, his beautiful Robin-chwan would be poring over books and Nami-swan would be yelling at them as she formed a plan to search for him. Yes, he knew what the crew would do, but it didn't ease his dread. They had reached an island filled with pumpkins, and as far as he knew and saw, this island didn't have any of that. Was it even the same island?

He shook his head; of course it had to be. He couldn't have travelled to another island, could he? True, he had no idea how long he'd been out or how the fuck he had even made it there. The sky wasn't making it any easier either. There were no stars, and no moon to orient himself with, it was just the endless flux of night, dawn and dusk.

He clutched the bridge of his nose, he had no idea which way he should go to reach the shore and no idea how far it was. A memory of himself sitting on top of a barren rock flitted through his mind, and he clenched his jaw. No, this was not the same as then, even if the hopelessness was there, he wasn't a kid anymore. He could make a fire with the wood from the trees, build a shelter when he needed to sleep, and if he couldn't find anything good to eat he would eat the bark and the roots. Yes, he knew how to survive now.

Steeling himself for the long journey ahead he scanned the canopy one final time, trying to decide which way to go. Just as he let his eyes trail over the graveyard once more however, something caught his eye. Something had just stood up next to the dais, how had he not noticed it before?

He watched as a dark figure slowly walked in a circle around the raised stone platform, and he felt a voice tug at the back of his mind, "Find him."

The feeling was irresistible, the need to go towards the figure. He felt himself climb silently down from the tree and slowly make his way back to the graveyard. He tried to fight against it, he wanted to find the crew, he wanted to let them know he was okay, but his legs just wouldn't listen.

"It is a sorrowful sight, do you not agree?"

* * *

 **AN** :  
Finally, you'll soon get to meet this mystery person, are you excited? If you are I hope you wont be disappointed next chapter.  
Again I hope you like it so far, and please fav/follow and or review if you did.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Sanji stopped as he passed the iron gates. He noticed how they had rusted and decayed, and he imagined how they once would have been smooth black, and beautiful. He let his gaze trail over the graveyard, the ground was barren safe a few autumn leaves, and spindly roots snaked their way over the crumbling stone walls. He hadn't noticed it when he first woke up, too preoccupied with dealing with his situation to care. But the figure was right, it was a sorrowful sight.

"I do," he hesitated. The figure was standing with his back to him now, facing the dais. It was dressed in black and had a hood over its head. He looked over his shoulder into the forest, it still wasn't too late to turn around and find the shore.

"You will not find it, as it is not meant to be found."

The voice was smooth and deep, and sounded very, very old, Sanji thought. Like old wine, that had yet to go sour. "I beg your pardon?"

"You wish to find the ocean, but this forest is thick and will not let you leave," The figure turned slowly towards him, "And I am pleased to know you have good taste, I do not often get compared to a fine wine." The figure smiled warmly at him, and Sanji had to force himself to not take a step back in shock when his eyes landed on his face. He was strikingly handsome, but undeniably very, very old. It reminded him of someone, but he couldn't place it, like someone he had met in a dream he had forgotten he ever had. But there was more, he had his eyes, his piercingly cerulean blue eyes.

"Wha-." He stared dumbfounded. This had to be a joke, right? "What the fuck?"

The man's smile faltered, "Ah, yes, I suppose some explanation is in order."

"You think?"

Sanji watched as the man gently lowered himself down onto a step of the dais and laced his fingers together slowly. He felt heat rise inside him, the bastard was taking his sweet time and it was pissing him off.

"Fighting me will be pointless, will you not instead indulge in a conversation with an old man." He gestured to the step he was sitting on, "Please, sit."

Sanji growled. He wanted to kick and scream at the old man to go fuck himself, and then leave this damn graveyard. But he again felt himself walk towards him, his gait calm and resolute.

"Your temper has not changed, I see." The old man seemed to study him before his warm smile returned, "But I am glad to see your manners have improved."

Without wanting to he took his seat next to the man, and he too laced his finger together. He decided not to speak, though he had a million questions run through his mind.

"I am surprised, though pleased; you are not bombarding me with those questions you are longing to ask." He didn't look at him, but instead had his eyes fixed on the iron gate. "Yes, we have met before, a long time ago when you were just a boy. Why the Crone asked me to bring you then, I will never understand. You were wild and dare I say very rude in your behaviour towards me. You did however, as you still do today, possess a very kind heart." He finally turned towards him, and Sanji felt himself shrink a little under the piercing stare he had on him. "I am amused to see we share a common flaw, our kindness is so often misconstrued is it not? Our efforts of giving compliments are misinterpreted as mindless adoration, and too often brushed aside. And yet we never cease to do it. But, alas I am getting off topic. You are of course wondering who I am, and what I want with you."

He turned his gaze back to the gate, and Sanji found himself breathing a little easier.

"I am called by many names, most are gruesome and so very wrong, you might know me as The Bringer of Death, or simply just Death, or maybe by my favourite-," He chuckled softly, "The Grim Reaper." He shook his head, "But my true name is the Shepherd. Cursed by the Crone to walk between the veil, between the now and what once was. My punishment for loving too much and too deeply, I suppose. Which is why I have yet again met with you." Sanji let his gaze turn to the gate as well; he could feel the melancholy in the air around them.

"For twelve years I have been trying to find my way back to this place, to tend to my duty of watching over it and helping those who rest here speak. You have undoubtedly felt it, I imagine, because we are still linked it would seem. I do not know the reason, but I am apparently back early, and I think you know that too."

Sanji blinked and turned his head back on the old man sharply, then narrowed his eyes at him. _This is ridiculous!_ "I don't know what you're getting at old man," he growled, "but that's the most bullshit thing I've heard in a long time!" He took his cigarette and relit it, "I have met a lot of weird people in my life, but you've got to be crazy if you think I'm going to believe any of the crap that just came out of your mouth!" He took a deep drag of his cigarette and held it for a few moments, seeing if the old man would say anything, when he didn't he let the smoke out of his lungs slowly. "I don't know you, and whatever devil fruit you've eaten has nothing to do with me!"

As he was about to stand up, fully intending to leave, the old man sighed and bowed his head, and he found he couldn't get up, growling he tried to fight against it. It was just like it had been back in the infirmary, he couldn't move a muscle. "Let me go!" He snarled.

"I would if I could, but I am afraid this is not my doing. The Crone has ordered you to stay, and so you must." He turned his head towards the sky, "Her powers are of immense strength, we are foolish to fight against it." Still staring unblinkingly up at the sky, he sighed again. "It was not lies or, as you so crudely put it, bullshit, I just told you. It is my duty and my punishment to walk this path; I am nothing but a tool to aid those in need, even if they are not aware that they need it. I am old yes, and I have been linked to many men throughout my years of service, I have no say in this matter any more than you have to be bound to me. You might not recall our meeting twelve years ago, but you undoubtedly felt its repercussions. It is all there in your mind, and you are thinking now about your headaches, your nightmares, and your difficulties each autumn harvest that has happened for so many years, are you not?"

Sanji's eyes widen and he had to fight to not gape at the old man, he had been thinking of it, though he wanted to refuse the connection. It was just too out there, too insane to even be a possibility. And yet, and yet… He let out a frustrated growl, before he spat, "And why the hell would I be bound to you? What kind of sick joke is that?"

"I am afraid I do not know the answer to that, as I said before, I do not know why the Crone has done this. All I know is that nothing can break our bond except the Crone, as she is the one that made it." He lowered his head, and Sanji thought he saw him struggle to take his eyes away from the sky, before he let them fall on his hands.

"So, what? She needs to be defeated in order for the link to be broken?" He tore his eyes away from the man and glared at the ground, "We'll be cursed forever."

"Yes we will be," the old man sighed, "She can never be defeated by the likes of us, we share too many flaws. And she can never be reasoned with, so until she decides to break it, we will do our duty each Samhain, until she is satisfied." He looked to Sanji and smiled sadly, "Or, until she is satisfied with you and let you go. I will still be her humble servant, bound to another man to continue my punishment."

Sanji still held his eyes on the ground, though his glare had disappeared and had been replaced with a thoughtful stare, "So, I will have to keep living through those hellish migraines, the blindness, the loss of bodily movement and everything else each autumn harvest until she feel it's time to let me go. That's a shitty deal!" He ran a hand through his hair, "What did I do to deserve such a punishment?" He breathed dispiritedly.

"I imagine it is the same as mine," the old man sighed, "We love to deeply and too much."

Sanji let out a bark of mirthless laughter, "What a shitty thing to be punished for."

"I quite agree, but I can not bring myself to argue with her when she is ever in my presence, even in her astral form she is as beautiful as the setting sun." He sighed, a hint of dreamy longing in his voice, and Sanji knew that feeling well. It was how he spoke of his beautiful flowers back on the Sunny; he suddenly bit down on his cigarette, the Sunny, the crew! He needed to find them, they were probably worried sick. He had been so engrossed in the conversation with the old man, he'd totally forgotten about them. He wanted to kick himself, how could he forget them so easily!

"You can not find them now; I have already told you this. The forest will not let you leave." The old man lifted his head towards the gate again, "We have a duty to uphold, until then we are bound to this place."

Sanji gritted his teeth and let out a frustrated sigh, "You keep talking about our duty. And what duty is that exactly?"

"To allow the dead to speak," the old man looked forlornly around at the graves around them. "I trust you know about Samhain and the reason it is celebrated?"

Sanji looked around at the graves as well, "Yes," he almost spat the word. "It is the day the veil between the living and the dead is at its thinnest, it was a day where people were once able to speak with their loved ones who had passed away." He let his gaze fall to the ground again and narrowed his eyes, "But it has been a long time since people actually celebrated it for that, now it's just an excuse to dress up in stupid costumes and throw a party."

The old man nodded sadly, "Yes, it has been like that for almost a century. I remember well when we met twelve years ago that it was happening everywhere we went, it was quite the shock for you to learn the real reason for Samhain, you called it Halloween then. Derived from All Hallows Eve no doubt, a stupid name if you ask me."

Sanji glared at the ground, "I hate it!" he spat the words like venom.

"I see." The old man smiled warmly at him, "So even after all these years, after you had repressed all the memories of our time together, you still retained the lessons I taught you."

It was true; he hadn't really known how he knew about Samhain or the reasons for it, that too was something he had come to know after Samhain when he was nine. Twelve years ago. Had it really been because of this? This connection to an old man, who was supposedly cursed to walk between two worlds. Then why couldn't he remember it? And why the fuck had it only happened then and not every year? And why all the pain?

"You ask a lot of good questions. Some I have already answered, and some of which I do not know the answer to, but I have my theories. Do you wish to hear them?" The old man was looking at him with that piercing stare again and it was making Sanji uncomfortable.

"Would you please stop reading my mind?" Sanji growled before looking at the ground, feeling like a child as he almost pouted. "But sure, go ahead."

"I think that you are unable to remember it because off your life at the time, you did not have an easy upbringing that is for certain, your mind was not fragile, oh no-," He looked apologetically at him, as he undoubtedly read his mind again, "far from it in fact, but as you were so young it was simply too much information at the time. Then the year after, you were yet again in a situation where you mind could not deal with it, I see it still haunts you greatly." He shook his head sadly, but there was no pity in his eyes, only sadness. "After that you closed you mind to it. Repressed it as well as you could, and every year during autumn harvest I tried to make my way back here," he gestured to the graveyard, "But because you refused the connection, I was unable to find it. I believe the pain you have suffered is because I have tried to find it, to break the bond between us in my search." He lowered his head, "For that I am truly sorry, if I had known how much pain it caused you I would have stayed where I was and waited until you were ready."

Sanji bit down on his cigarette, _so that's the reason, huh._ He looked at the ground furrowing his brows, it made sense somehow, those years had been hell. He had been in that cell when it had happened the first time, and no one had even cared that he was in pain, the second year was not long after they had been rescued and it was put down to his pains after his starvation. It had been easier the years after that, it hadn't been as painful so he had been able to hide it from the geezer, during the last two years it had been a little worse, but manageable, this year however. He couldn't remember it being this painful before. "But, if you've been searching for this place all this time, then why have I only felt it during the autumn harvest? And why have it always been worse on Samhain?"

"Ah, yes. As I am able to walk through the veil just once a year, my strength is weakened during the rest of the year. In fact it is as if I am asleep. Once I wake up I am often unable to recognize the world around me, and it takes time for me to understand and comprehend who or what I am. As Samhain gets closer I remember more and more, and on the eve of the celebration I am fully aware and try desperately to come back here, to fulfil my duty. But as I have told you, I never made it, until now." He stroked his goatee thoughtfully, "This time was different somehow though, I was able to retain my memories faster, it is as if the wall you put up to block our bond has been weakened somehow. I was able to hear your world to some degree. I listened as your crewmates, Chopper your ships doctor was one of them, called out for you, but as I started to move there was a blinding light and I fell back to sleep. When I awoke the next time there came this sound of dripping water," He furrowed his brow in annoyance, "It was rather painful if I am to be honest, and as it became louder and louder I lost my consciousness."

Sanji stared at him, the dripping in the I-V, that had to be it.

"The next time I awoke after that it was quiet again, but this time as I stood up something stabbed me from behind and I had difficulty breathing before I again lost consciousness," He was clutching the bridge off his nose now, apparently frustrated with the whole ordeal, and Sanji could understand him, that had to have been that fucking lumbar puncture Chopper had done on him, he gritted his teeth in frustration as he thought about it too.

"The next time I awoke however I was finally able to move without anything happening, and I was finally able to gaze upon my dear beloved again. My Crone, in all her radiant astral glory." He sighed despondently, "She told me I was early, which I yet do not understand the meaning off, and then she told me to find you." He gave Sanji the same warm smile as before, "I must say I was surprised at first, I will not go so far and say I had given up hope, I knew that one day I would come back here, but in some part of my mind I believed I had to wait until our bond had been severed and I would be bound to another." Suddenly he gracefully got up from where he had been sitting, "I had hoped that you would recognize me, I was wondering what reaction you would have, I am sad to say I was a little disappointed when you did not, I am however glad that you are taking this meeting rather well."

He turned and walked up the stairs of the dais, "Now, I believe I have told you enough for you to trust me, so shall we get on with our duty?"

Sanji didn't move as he sat there staring up at the old man. He knew the old man was telling the truth, he knew it, and yet, he wanted to refuse it. He wanted to yell at him that he was wrong, but how could he? The pain, the nightmares, and everything else that had happened for so long, it was all because of this. He could feel it the moment he laid eyes on the old man that he recognised him, and now he could also feel that he recognised the graveyard, in some distant dreamlike memory. It had to have been real. He let his gaze drift over the graveyard as he slowly got up, glad that he was able to move again. Though, he did suspect that if he so much as made one move in the direction of the gate that he would be stopped again. He looked at his cigarette; it was almost gone. Letting out a sigh he raised it to his lips and lit it again. One final deep drag of smoke filled his lungs, letting the ember almost touch his fingers as he marvelled at the feeling of his lungs burning ever so slightly, before releasing it slowly. "Okay," he nodded, "Where are we going?"

The old man was standing on the mark in the middle of the dais, looking down on it with the same warm smile he had given Sanji, "To the other side, we have a few people to meet."

* * *

 **AN** : So you might have noticed a slight shift in the story, that's because this is all from Sanji's perspective. It will continue like this from now on as it's hard to switch between them going forward without it getting confusing. I hope you'll still enjoy it though.

And as always, if you enjoyed the story so far please fav/follow and or leave a review. I'd love to hear your feedback.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

 _A few people to meet, huh._ So this was to be his duty? To run around in the land of the dead looking for people, rounding them up so that they would be ready to pass into the world of the living for 48 hours during Samhain? _That was just perfect._ He could picture it, looking for old men desperate to reunite with their still living widowed wives, crying children looking for their parents, mothers and fathers crying out for their orphaned children. Yes, he would do it, and though he wanted to think of it begrudgingly, he couldn't, his heart went out to all of them, he wanted to help them, he truly did. And that is what pissed him off, his ever dying need to help others, to always put everyone else first and himself second.

"You truly are a selfless person; it is a trait not many have," the Shepherd said looking at Sanji, still with that warm smile. "But our list is not that long, I am not the only one cursed by the Crone, but I am the one bonded to you." He gestured to the mark, "Will you do the honour of opening the gate?"

Sanji took a few tentative steps up the stairs and came to stand next to the old man, "I-," He looked down on the three feathers surrounded by the knotted pattern. As he looked at it closer there was writing around it too, "I don't know-," he trailed off as the letters suddenly seem to glow faintly.

Pass through me and look, tread your steps lightly.  
It is not the end, and yet not the beginning.  
Let your gait be firm, but not too hard.  
See the beauty, but do not be deceived.  
Find what you seek and let it be.  
Go through me and set them free.

Sanji read it out in barely a whisper, "Wha-," he had barely formed his mouth around the question however as the tree began to shine brightly. It soon became too much and he had to shield his eyes from the light. _What the hell?_

oOo

He opened his eyes slowly, the light was bright and he cursed under his breath as he had to blink several times before he got used to it. For a split second he had been afraid he was back to being blinded by golden threads, but as his eyes finally adjusted to the world around him, they were gone. He breathed a sigh of relief.

As he looked around he saw the Shepherd sitting next to him, his head lifted towards the sky and his eyes closed. "Um?"

"It has been quite some time since I last saw a blue sky and such a big sun; it is not often I am able to enjoy its rays like this." There was a hint of melancholy in his voice, and Sanji couldn't help lift his head to the sky as well. It hadn't been that many days since he had seen it, but he could understand. If all the old man had seen for the last twelve years was that flux sky back in that forest, he would enjoy it just as much.

"Where are we?" He looked around; they were sitting on a grassy hill looking out over the sea. It was the calmest place he had been in a very long time, and he was suddenly reminded of East Blue for some reason.

"East Blue," the Shepherd murmured before he took a deep breath "Yes, that is where we are," It was as he was trying to savoir the smell of salt and flowers as a light breeze drifted by them. "The home to the first on our list."

Sanji plucked out a new cigarette from his pocket, "Hmmm," he tapped it gently on his knee as he took a deep breath himself, "It's been a long time since I've seen this sea. I always thought I'd have to wait until we made it, to see it again." He gently raised it to his mouth and lit it. "So who are we here to find?"

"Portgas D. Ace," the old man smiled, "I do wonder if he is much like his father."

Sanji coughed violently around his cigarette, before he stared open mouthed at him; they were going to find Ace? Ace? Luffy's brother, Ace? The same guy they met in Alabasta? Ace, who died at Marineford in front of Luffy barely two years ago? "You-," He swallowed thickly, "You're telling me Luffy gets to meet Ace on Samhain?" He felt heat rise inside him and he balled his fist.

"You seem angered by this; I would think it would have made you glad." The old man still had his face turned to the sky with his eyes closed, and he wore that warm smile again. Sanji felt like kicking that smile off his face.

"Of course I'm fucking angry about it!" He spat, "Luffy has barely started healing after what happened! He still has nightmares about it, he tries to act like nothing is wrong, but we can all feel it!" He was breathing hard. He had gotten to his feet, and was pacing back and forth so he could restrain himself from kicking out in fury. "What the fuck do you think will happen if Luffy sees Ace again, huh?" He was seething, this was not what he had signed up for, helping random men, women and children he would do in a heartbeat, but this? "All those wounds he has had to carry with him for two whole years, being on his own to deal with the grief and guilt, and now we finally got back together and are trying our fucking best to help him mend, and we're just gonna throw Ace in his fucking face? What the fuck do you think that will do to him, huh?"

The old man turned his head and looked up at him sadly, "I am not the one who made the list, I am just the Shepherd, I have no say in who we need to find." He sighed dejectedly before turning his head back to the sky again, "The Crone is the one who decides, and it is our duty to follow her command."

Sanji went over to a nearby tree and kicked it so it uprooted and smashed through several others, his feet were ablaze, but he didn't care. The crew had been back together for barely a month, and he had seen how much pain Luffy had been in. Several nights he had woken up to see Luffy staring wildly around himself before letting out sighs of relief, he had seen the hollowed look on his face when he thought no one was around, and the blank stares as he looked over the ocean. He knew how much it was affecting their captain, he recognized the looks Luffy got, because it was the same he had had when he was younger. The flashbacks, the hurt and the grief. They had been doing their fucking best to not mention it, to just be there for him when he needed them. Sanji had vowed to never let his captain go through something like that ever again, and now? Now he had to go and find the one thing, the one person, who could ruin Luffy all over again. "It's not fair, damnit!"

"Life is not fair, you off all people should know this." The old man had not moved, and was still sitting on the ground, quietly enjoying the view as Sanji had stormed and raged at the injustice of it all.

"How the fuck can you be so damn calm about this?" Sanji spat at him.

"It is not the first time I have had to find someone who could make the grief of someone else worse," The Shepherd lowered his head and looked over the calm sea in front of them. "But in all my years, it never has. Quite the contrary, it has often been what the person needed the most."

"So you're saying that Luffy needs this?" He growled.

"The Crone seems to think so, or she would not have put his name on our list." The old man raised his hands over his head and stretched before gracefully getting to his feet. "I feel we have spent enough time basking in the sun now, do you not agree?" He looked at him, there was still a hint of sadness in his cerulean eyes, and Sanji felt some of his fury die down.

Could it be true? Could meeting Ace now really help Luffy? It had only been two years; his death was still so fresh in all their minds. He didn't like it, meeting your loved ones again should be a happy reunion, not one filled with anguish and guilt. He relit his cigarette and took a deep drag from it before letting the smoke out slowly, "Tell me something, who is the Crone? You talk about her like she is a goddess, and while I think of all women like goddesses, she seems different somehow."

The Shepherd looked up to the sky again; a look of fondness crossed his face. "She is truly a goddess. The Old Crone, it is one of her many names, but she has also been known to be called a hag these past few centuries," he shook his head and chuckled softly, "now it is thought of as something bad, something to be feared, and many are repulsed by the name alone, but would you believe me when I tell you that the name in ancient times actually meant, the holy one, intelligence and a vessel of female wisdom?" His gaze fell on the sea again, "Once she was revered as a woman of power whose vast stories of wisdom came with her age and the life-long practise of her many skills. She has compassion without the illusion or sentiment of youth. All knowledge of the Maiden and Mother lives within her. She is darkness and winter, and her colour is black. She used to be associated with wisdom, divination, prophesy, endings, old age, rest and secrets. Her many symbols are those of crow's feathers, bones, spirals, broomsticks and dark coloured stones. She is both the destroyer, and the healer, the grandmother and the eternal womb of rebirth. She has a cauldron so deep it contains the great cosmic womb in which all things are conceived, grown and are reborn." He let out a despondent sigh, "She is my love, my captor and my life."

Sanji hummed, "She sounds like some kind of fairytale witch."

"That she is, but not the kind that is sometimes called out to women who do undesirable deeds, I believe your crewmate, Roronoa Zoro, has often called your dear Nami that on more than one occasion. Has he not?"

Sanji growled, "Yes, that bastard has no manners when it comes to treating women with respect!" He huffed and felt the need to bash the marimo's head in as he thought about it.

"But yes, it is easy to think of her as a witch, but her powers are those of a goddess. She watches over the ebb and flow of time, rarely intervening, but always watching. Her powers though always strong, are always greater during Samhain, as is the nature with all things now and what once was." He turned around and looked at the trees around them, "We really should be on our way, I believe you know where we should go." He looked over to where Sanji stood next to the crater he had just made, and looked at him expectantly.

Sanji looked at the sky, _a true goddess, oh how I would love to gaze upon her beauty._ He shook his head and lowered his eyes to look around as well before meeting the old man's expectant stare, "How the hell should I know, I've never been here before!"

The Shepherd sighed, "The Crone has given you the gift, or curse if you will, of sight. You should be able to see his thread. It is the reason for our bond, you are the seer and our guide."

Sanji stared at him, _the thread?_ "You mean to tell me," he felt his anger flare up again, "that the reason I went blind and saw a million golden threads is because of this?" He waved his hand to indicate the forest around him.

"Yes, they are spirit threads, or soul threads, whichever you prefer. I am unable to see them, I am just the Shepherd, the one who is able to guide the dead through the veil," he raised an eyebrow at him, "you are the one who is able find them."

 _Perfect! Just perfect!_ He felt his hand clench and unclench as he again let his eyes peer into the forest around them. There was nothing, no trace of a thread anywhere. He relit his cigarette that was hanging on his lip, the smoke coiling in the air and he watched it drift towards the forest. He frowned, there was no wind going in that direction, _oh_ _you can't be serious._

He grumbled, but decided to throw caution to the wind and followed it. When the smoke died down he puffed a little on it, trying to keep it going for as long as possible. He didn't need to do it for too long however as they soon came upon a clearing next to the sea again, and he could see the faint trace of a thread coiling itself around a massive tree where a treehouse had been built almost in the top of it.

"It's here," he said excitedly, and he couldn't help but smile in relief at the sight of it.

* * *

 **AN** : A little note on the Crone, she is real and has been worshiped in many religions and societies since the dawn of time, she is often thought of as a part of the Triple-Goddess. In every mythology there is at least one Crone Goddess, and they are usually depicted the same in all of them. She is not, contrary to popular (early and modern Christianity for example) beliefs, evil or wicked.

As always, I hope you're liking the story so far, and please fav/follow and or leave a review if you do.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

They stood and stared up at the treehouse, and Sanji could see the faint trace of the thread go up into it. He took a few tentative steps towards it wondering if he should touch it or not. He had a feeling he should, but still he hesitated. He knew something was going to happen if he did, it was like he had a memory far in the back of his mind of doing it before, he just couldn't recall it. He gritted his teeth and let out a frustrated sigh, before he reached his hand out and placed it upon the thread.

It was like a surge of energy shot through his hand and up his arm. He tried to wrench his hand away from it, but he couldn't manage it. Suddenly a strong wind swirled around them, and he thought for a second he was going to be swept away with it, but then, just as suddenly as it had come it was gone, and the thread had disappeared.

He growled, "Fucking hell, what was that?"

The Shepherd looked around them, a calm expression on his face, "I believe you found a trace of his spirit, but he is hidden from us yet. Do not worry, we will find it again, I am sure."

Before Sanji could retort however they heard children laughing from up in the treehouse.

"Hey Ace, tomorrow I'll be much stronger, I'll beat you then!" Sanji gaped as he recognized that voice, it was younger and more high-pitched, but it could only belong to one person. "Luffy?"

"Ha! You'll never be able to defeat me Luffy!" Was that Ace? It sounded like him, but his voice was different as well.

"You meanie! I will defeat you, if not tomorrow, then the day after then!" Sanji could hear the pout Luffy was undoubtedly wearing on his face as he said it, and he couldn't help smiling fondly at it, but then he furrowed his brows, _what is this?_

"It'll never happen!" Ace said defiantly, and there was a hint of mockery in his voice.

"Hey now you two, why are you always arguing like this?" That was a voice Sanji didn't recognize, it was still a child's voice, but he couldn't remember hearing it, or anything remotely close to it, ever. "Who's the third kid?" he whispered.

The Shepherd had come to stand next to him, a fond smile on his face, "That would be Sabo, their other sworn brother." He talked in a normal tone and Sanji wanted to shush him, lest the boys hear them. "They can not hear us, so do not worry about talking freely." He still had the same fond smile as he looked up at the treehouse, but Sanji thought he could see a trace of sadness in his eyes.

"Luffy has two brothers?" He shook his head in disbelief, "What the hell is going on?" He stared at the old man.

"I believe this is Ace's afterlife, each person has a different one. It would seem that Ace is reliving his fondest memories." He stroked his goatee, still smiling.

"So?" Sanji stared up at the treehouse again, "Luffy really had another brother?" He frowned, "Why haven't we heard about him?" He asked the question more to himself than the old man. If this was truly a memory, how come they had never even heard of this kid? _Well, we didn't exactly know about Ace until we met him in Alabasta._ Had Luffy never mentioned him because it had never come up? But, why didn't he come to help rescue Ace during the war, like Luffy did? He clutched the bridge of his nose, this didn't make any sense.

"You will most likely find the answers to those questions as we search for the real Ace, for now let us continue finding the thread." The old man was still staring up at the treehouse, and Sanji suddenly noticed how it had gone dark around them.

"The real Ace?" He looked up at the dark sky and saw the moon shining down on them. "And wasn't it day just a moment ago?"

"Yes, this is just a memory, he is undoubtedly watching it as well, but as I said, he is hidden from us." He turned towards the forest again, "As for the sudden appearance of night, the time is different here, but we should not worry about it." He started walking towards the trees, "We really should find the thread again, please lead the way."

Sanji let his eyes trail over the treehouse again, it was silent now. _Time is different here, huh._ He turned around and looked at the forest, relighting his cigarette to see if the smoke would yet again show him the way. He frowned when the smoke only trailed up into the sky and dissipated. _So much for hoping it would help us again._

He sighed and jogged to catch up to the old man, "I just can't believe it, Luffy have another brother out there? And we never even knew about it." He whistled in amazement before looking around at the trees, "And about the thread, I have no fucking clue where it is, I can't see any trace of it."

The Shepherd hummed a little before turning to his right, "I guess we will just have to follow the trail until you do then."

Sanji looked to where the Shepherd was walking, and to his astonishment there was a trail there he hadn't noticed before.

"You seem surprised to see the trail, did you not believe there to be one?" There was no mockery in his voice, just slight amusement, and Sanji frowned.

It wasn't that he didn't think there would be one; he had just been surprised that the old man had seen it and he hadn't. He had forced himself not to retort back like he would have done to anyone else however, and instead walked quietly next to the old man and listened to him hum a somewhat cheerful tune, "You seem to be in a good mood." He said casually as he still kept looking into the forest around them, hoping to catch a glimpse of something shining, but there was still nothing.

"I suppose I am," the Shepherd smiled, "It seems very nostalgic to be walking beside you again, though you were just a young boy the last time we walked together, your devotion to finding the threads is the same."

"Hmm, I wouldn't know," Sanji took a drag from his cigarette, holding on to a fraction of hope that it might help lead their way again, but still the smoke just floated aimlessly through the air and dissipated. "I still don't remember anything from it."

"A shame, I find them to be rather pleasant, but maybe they will come back to you during our search." He was looking around at the forest as well, observing it and enjoying its tranquillity.

Sanji kept staring into the darkness of the forest, trying to catch a glimpse of the thread, and listening for anything other than their own footsteps on the ground, but there was nothing. "Maybe you can enlighten me a little of whom we met back then, and I might just remember it faster?"

The Shepherd let out a bark of laughter, "I might as well." He stroked his goatee as he hummed a little more on the tune, and Sanji was sure he had heard it before somewhere, "Let's see, which one to tell you about first."

"Why not just go through the list?" Sanji offered offhandedly.

"Well, I suppose I could, but a lot of them would be rather boring for you as you have no recollection of their names, but," He looked at Sanji and studied him for a little while, "Yes, you went to Jaya and Skypiea three years ago, you would know him, even if you never really met him. You remember the Shandian Warriors, that is good." He looked towards the forest again.

"Sky Island? Seriously?" Sanji said in amazement.

"Oh yes, we went there looking for the former Chief of the Shandians, you were quite amazed by the notion of an island in the sky, though I believe anyone would be to be honest." He chuckled softly before he looked up at the sky for a few moments, and then he seemed to remember something because he suddenly furrowed his brows in annoyance, "This was of course long before the logia user, Enel, came to the island." He scrunched up his nose in disgust, "What an insolent child he was, I am glad to know he was not there for long," He suddenly smiled at Sanji, and Sanji stumbled a step at the quick change in the old man's mood, "You have done many good deeds on your travels, do not think they have gone unnoticed."

"Oh, uh-" Sanji quickly regained his balance and straightened his back a little, before turning his face away from the old man and looked back into the forest, "Thanks, I guess?"

"As modest as ever, I see." The old man chuckled again.

"Oh! I think I see it!" Sanji almost jumped with excitement, before coughing and then pointed towards a clearing a little to the left of them. "It's over there," He said coolly, trying to regain some of his nonchalant demeanour.

"Do not worry yourself with being excited in my presence, it is refreshing to see you in such high spirits," The old man chuckled good-naturedly and shook his head, "Please lead the way."

Sanji had to restrain himself from running over to where he had caught a glimpse of something shimmering; it was close to a small pond not far from where they had been walking. As he got nearer to it however, he started to feel a slight trepidation over what he had to do again. He wanted to see another memory, he really did, but these we Ace's private memories, what right did he have to watch them? Yes, this was their duty, and he knew that the only way to find him was to watch them, but still.

"You are hesitating." The Shepherd came to stand beside him, his eyes fixed on the moon mirrored in the still water.

"I am," Sanji said calmly as he stared at the golden thread that was laying at the edge of the pond.

"May I ask why?" There was no edge to the question, just mild curiosity.

"I-," Sanji couldn't take his eyes off the thread. He could feel the connection it had to Ace without even touching it, it felt like it was calling to him. So why was he hesitating? Was it because he would be trespassing into something as sacred as Ace's memories? Or was it more than that? He furrowed his brows. Was he scared? Scared of what he might see? But why would he be, it wasn't like he would see the war at Marineford, the old man had said that Ace was reliving his good memories, so what was it?

"You are conflicted." The Shepherd sighed, "I understand. You had the same feelings the first time as well. You now know what will happen when you touch it, and it scares you." He looked at Sanji, but there was no pity in his eyes, only sadness and understanding. "It scares you because you long to watch their past, and yet you despise that feeling because you believe that it is not meant for your eyes. It is your kindness and selflessness that makes it hard for you to watch it without feeling guilt and shame." His eyes trailed back over the pond again, "In a few of the memories we watched in the past you also often felt helpless as you could not aid the people in them when they were hurting, I believe that even though you may have forgotten the memories, the feelings are still there."

Sanji had kept his stare on the thread, feeling the increasing yearning to touch it. Was that true? Was some part of the reason he was hesitating because of the memories he couldn't remember? And also because, yet again, he was too kind and too selfless? "This truly is a punishment then," he chuckled sadly, "The Crone really does pick her men with care, doesn't she?" It wasn't really a question, and he shook his head, "I just, I feel it's wrong of us to do this, you know?"

"I do understand, but it is our duty and we are wise to obey the orders we are given." The Shepherd looked up at the stars, "We do not want to anger The Old Crone. As merciful as she is, her wrath is even greater." He lowered his head and looked at Sanji again, "We do not have much time, remember there are more names on our list. Please, touch the thread and let us continue our search for Ace."

Sanji nodded slowly, his eyes still fixed on the thread. "I guess that's it then." He lowered himself gingerly down to the edge of the water and reached out towards it. Holding his breath he felt his hand wrap around it and a new gust of wind swirled around them.

* * *

 **AN** : You didn't think it would be that easy finding him did you? That would have been a pretty boring story, right?

As always if you are enjoying the story so far, please fav/follow and or leave a review if you do. Also, if you don't, please tell me why. I strive to get better, and I can't really do that without any feedback. Thanks for reading it this far though.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Sanji was still sitting next to the water, blinking at the sudden daylight again, when he heard talking from behind him.

"Luffy? Did you really eat a Devil Fruit?"

"Uh-huh!"

Turning around he almost stumbled backwards into the water at what he saw. There were two boys, no more than ten years old, sitting next to a large fish skeleton holding a bone each and eating off of it. One had unkempt black hair, freckles on his nose and wore a red tank-top, the other had a big tophat with blue goggles around it, and was wearing a blue tailcoat. "Is tha-"

"No wonder you can't swim." The boy with the blue tailcoat said to a boy who was on his hands and knees a little away from them, he was wearing a strawhat on his back and was drooling like a dog at the other boys.

"Is this-?" Sanji felt his throat go dry.

"Yes, this is how they looked. Are you surprised?" The Shepherd had come to stand next to him; again he wore a fond smile as he watched the scene in front of them.

"Well," Sanji trailed off, "I don't know what I expected really." He watched as the boy in the blue tailcoat tossed the fishtail to Luffy who jumped after it before catching it and holding it like it was a treasure.

"You're too kind, Sabo." Sanji stared at the kid who could only be a younger Ace. He was pretty heavily bandaged, and looking at all of them again, he saw that they all were, "How did they get so banged up?"

"Oh, I am sure you know the answer to your own question," the Shepherd raised an eyebrow at him.

"They've been fighting." Sanji said quietly, and he felt a twinge of pain in his chest at the thought of it.

"Yes, but I believe it has almost always been in good spirit and not out of malicious intent, at least that is what I gather from them here. All though-," He frowned in concentration as he watched the boys, "These wounds are from a fight against someone who were out to harm them." He shook his head slightly, "It is hard to read them when they are mere shadows of the past." The Shepherd smiled sadly at him.

"So, what fruit did you eat?" Sabo had walked over to Luffy who was grinning as he tossed the fishtail in the air.

"The Gum-Gum," Luffy answered before swallowing the fishtail in one go.

Sanji nodded slowly at what the Shepherd had said, but he couldn't help smiling at Luffy's antics, "I see he's always had that talent, I'm not even surprised."

"In exchange for the ability to swim, your body turned to rubber. That's crappy," Ace was picking his teeth with a fish bone and Sanji couldn't help shaking his head at it, Luffy had done that on several occasions too, now he knew where he'd gotten that trait from.

"Hang on, they didn't know he was a rubberman before this?" Sanji looked at the old man confusedly, "But in the last memory Luffy said he would beat Ace, I would have assumed they knew?"

The Shepherd kept his eyes on the boys as Ace continued to mock Luffy's devil fruit, "I believe we are not watching the memories in order, it would seem that this happened before the time in the treehouse." He chuckled as Luffy yelled at Ace while walking towards him, and Sabo holding onto his cheek which was stretching. "I did tell you, time is different here, and we are also not the ones controlling which memory we see, that is the real Ace who does, we are merely following him through them."

Sanji turned his eyes back on the boys as well, and couldn't help chuckle as Luffy was blowing himself up like a balloon and the boys started kicking him around like a ball. "I guess that makes sense."

The words had barely left his lips however before Luffy was kicked hard by Ace and he landed in the water. Sanji's eyes widened in shock as he watched a large crocodile open his jaws around the tiny boy before swallowing him, and to add insult to injury, the crocodile spat out Luffy's strawhat. "Luffy!" Sanji was about to leap after him, but the Shepherd touched his arm gently, and Sanji halted immediately in surprise and looked at him agape.

"There is nothing you can do, let the boys handle this. Watch." He pointed at Ace and Sabo who had jumped after him, their metal staffs held high as they charged the beast. "They might have been young, but they were not helpless, in fact-," they watched as Ace and Sabo managed to jam their staffs into the crocodile's mouth making it unable to close its jaw, before they climbed into it to retrieve Luffy, "they had already become skilled tacticians and fighters, even though they might not have known it at the time."

After the boys had rescued Luffy they had proceeded to kill the beast, tie it up and started carrying it off, Ace holding the head, Sabo the middle, and Luffy the tail. Sanji looked at them curiously before he started walking after them. They hadn't walked far however before a flash of light darted quickly through the forest in his peripheral vision. He stopped and turned his head sharply towards it, but it was gone. He narrowed his eyes; _there was definitely something there, what was that?_

"What is it?" The Shepherd had stopped next to him and was looking into the woods as well.

"I thought-," Sanji scanned the area he thought he had seen it, but there was nothing. He shook his head, "Never mind, let's go." As he turned around to follow after the boys again however, he saw that they had disappeared. _Typical._

"It seems that the memory is over," The Shepherd smiled at him. "We should perhaps still follow the route they were taking?" And before Sanji could say anything he had started walking in the direction he had indicated.

Sanji looked around the forest again, his brow furrowed, he was sure he had seen something. Looking up towards the trail the old man had started on, Sanji suddenly felt something tugging him in that direction as well. It felt like the feeling he had had when he had seen the thread by the pond, though a lot fainter, like it was calling out to him to find it. A small smile ghosted his lips as he joined up with the old man.

"You seem pleased," the Shepherd smiled, "I can only surmise that you have finally noticed your ability to feel the thread as well as seeing it, am I right?"

"You knew I could do that?" Sanji narrowed his eyes at him, "Why didn't you tell me in that in beginning? It would have saved us from aimlessly walking around trying to find the damn thing."

"It was not my place to tell you, and even if I had told you, you would not have been able to sense it," The Shepherd shrugged his shoulders, "It had to come to you organically, the more times you touch the thread, the stronger the bond towards it will become, or so you and others have told me in the past."

"So the more times I touch it, the easier it will be to find the real Ace?"

"Essentially, yes."

"Wonderful."

* * *

 **AN** : So I know this is a really short chapter, but it had to be because of the next one. Sorry about that. I'm trying to avoid making the chapters super long.

Please forgive me, and please as always fav/follow and or leave a review if you like it. I would love to hear your thoughts about the story so far.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"So tell me, what happened when we were looking for the Shandian Chief?" They had been walking for a little while, and Sanji had kept his eye out for the thread as they walked, and used the pull of it as a compass to guide them through the forest. He had pondered upon how strange it had been to watch the younger versions of Luffy and Ace, as well as the other kid, Sabo, fighting; it was like it had been second nature for them. They hadn't exactly had any coordination with their attacks, but still, they had worked well together, Sabo and Ace more so than Luffy. And he had wondered how that was, if Luffy had known Ace his whole life, their teamwork should have been stronger. In the end he had given up making any sense of it, and instead thought back to the conversation he and the Shepherd had had before he had found the thread, effectively cutting the old man off for praising him further.

"Ah, so you still wish to hear the story?" The Shepherd smiled at him, "Well, it was not the first on our list, so you knew how to find him faster, but we still had to go through a few of his memories. The first one had been the Chief and a few other Shandian Warriors fighting against Gan Fall's army close to the edge of the forest. The Shandians had been using their rather crude weapons, and the Divine Squad their more refined dial weapons. It was not a very long fight, and neither came away from it a victor. I believe you have heard about the war between them that has been going on for centuries?"

Sanji thought back to their time on Skypiea and he remembered vaguely of hearing about a war like that, though he didn't remember who had told him about it. "Yeah I did, it was a war on who was the rightful owner of the land, Upper Yard or something, right?"

The Shepherd nodded gravely, "Yes, after half of Jaya had been shot into the sky by the knock-up-stream, the Shandians had been cast out of their homeland and it had been taken over by the Skypeans. The Shandian's of course wanted to find their home again, the city of Shandora, but they were never able to find it, and had been thwarted in their attempts several times. Resentment between the two societies grew with each fight, as one would expect. The Skypeans of course obtained knowledge of the mythical city at some point, and soon it had become a race to see who would find it first as well, and so the war became even fiercer between them."

Sanji saw a brief image of a fight between the two races, but he wasn't sure if it was a memory from three years ago, or if it was from when he was a kid. What had caught his eye however, was the pure hatred between them. "I do remember some sort of fight between them, the hatred between them was palpable."

"Yes, you were, dare I say, quite scared at that moment, I believe you had never seen fighting like that. Even in all your time as part of the Germa 66." The Shepherd's eyes were suddenly downcast, "I am sorry to bring up your childhood like that, I shall try to refrain from speaking about it again."

Sanji had felt cold dread run down his spine at the mention of his childhood again, it was something he had tried to forget for so long, but these memories was bringing a lot of them back. He knew it was a big part of who he had become as a person, but he wished they would have stayed buried in the back of his mind. This whole ordeal was making that harder and harder. "Thanks for the sentiment, and I'd appreciate it if you could, it's enough that Ace's memories are bringing that shit back."

"I see," The Shepherd nodded solemnly.

Before he could say anything more on the subject however, they arrived at the edge of the forest and Sanji gasped. In front of them was a mountain range filled with what could only be an immense amount of trash. "What is this place?" He asked in horror.

"This is-," The Shepherd narrowed his eyes as he looked at what was in front of them, "The Grey Terminal."

Sanji couldn't take his eyes away from the appalling scene in front of him, and he hadn't missed the barely contained anger in the Shepherd's voice. "The Grey Terminal?"

"Yes, this is where all undesirable things and-." His voice quaked, "and people- reside, in the Great Kingdom of Goa." He spat the last words in disgust, and Sanji couldn't help staring at him wide eyed. He would never have believed the Shepherd to have such an intense reaction to anything.

"The Kingdom of Goa? I've never heard about it." He looked back to the mountains of trash again, there were no people there as far as he could see. Then through the haze of fog he could see an enormous wall with a gigantic gate, and he couldn't help his jaw from falling open. As he strained his eyes to take it all in, something caught his eye. There was something faintly shining in the distance, and he could feel the pull of the spirit thread going in that direction as well. "I think I've found it-," He said gruffly, "Come on."

Sanji glanced at the Shepherd as they started to make their way down the slope towards the bottom of the hill; he noticed how the old man's hands were balled into fists, and how they were shaking ever so slightly. He was about to ask him about it, but before he could open his mouth however, the Shepherd started to speak, his voice laced with grief.

"I have forgotten how long I have been in the service of the Crone, it must be at least a millennia by now." He looked up at the sky for a brief moment. "I have helped many pass through the veil on Samhain during that time. I have found the ones on my list, and rarely cared if they were a beggar or a noble. Many centuries ago I visited this place for the first time, and I have done so many times since." His eyes shone with fury and despair as they walked on a makeshift street through the rubble, "I have walked through memories filled with war and destruction, seen what most consider to be the worst of human nature, but they are wrong, this is the worst. The Great Kingdom of Goa, home to the most despicable kind of humans that exist, next to the Celestial Dragons that is," He spat the words out like they were poison, "They call this the cleanest and most beautiful Kingdom in all of East Blue."

"Could have fooled me," Sanji grunted as he focused on the pull from the thread, having lost sight of its light due to all the rubble around them.

"Aesthetically, the Town Center and especially the High Town located within the city beyond the wall in front of us, is beautiful, and revoltingly clean. It is where the royal palace is located and it is where the nobility lives." He didn't try to hide his look of disgust as he said it.

"So, what? They just dump all their shit out here, and let the less fortunate live in this hellhole?" Sanji narrowed his eyes as he looked around again. He couldn't really say he was surprised, class separation like this was normal all across the world. Here it was just a lot more visible than other places.

"Yes, as I said, everything that is deemed undesirable is thrown out here."

"And this has been going on for centuries?" Sanji felt his resentment towards all nobles rise as he thought about it.

"That is right, and once every third decade they will burn it down, at the arrival of the Celestial Dragons inspection of the Kingdom."

Sanji stopped dead in his track, "THEY DO WHAT?" he roared.

The Shepherd nodded, some of his anger replaced by a deep sorrow, "The last time it happened was twelve years ago."

"And what happens to all the people living here?" Sanji asked through clenched teeth.

"They die." It was such a short answer, but Sanji felt it shake him to the core.

"You're telling me-," He breathed hard, "that because those repulsing excuses for human beings come to visit, they destroy all this along with its people?"

"Yes." The Shepherd nodded sadly. "They think of everything out here in the Grey Terminal to be trash, even the people who reside in it."

"And-," Sanji was seething, "the last time it happened was when Luffy lived here?"

"That is correct," The Shepherd looked up at the sky and nodded, before he turned his head down to look at him again. Sanji could see the tears that were brimming in his eyes. "As I do not think we will see that particular memory, I suppose it will not hurt telling you that Ace and Luffy was caught in the fire, and barely escaped with their lives."

Sanji, taken off guard by the deep sadness in his eyes before he said it, just stood there stunned at the words he had just heard. "Wha- What?" He managed to croak out. When the Shepherd didn't say anything however, he felt hot fury surge through his body, "THEY WERE HERE?"

The Shepherd looked away from him and stared in the direction of the gate, still with that sad expression on his face, before he nodded solemnly, "I am afraid so. They were even tricked into helping set out boxes of gunpowder and other explosives throughout the area, not knowing what they were doing."

"WHAT?" Sanji raged. Fire licking up his feet as the fury boiled inside him.

"It was either that or torture, and they had no way of escaping their captors. So Ace took the deal to protect your captain from harm. Their captors however had no intention of letting them go after they had upheld their end of the bargain, and tied them up to be killed by the flames. But they managed to escape. Though alive, they did not come away from it unscathed." The Shepherd said grimly.

Sanji had started moving again, only so he wouldn't start kicking at random objects that were around them. He couldn't even find the words to express himself any more, and for the first time in his life, he wished the marimo was there so that he could have something to take his outrage out on.

The Shepherd, though old, moved next to him, keeping up with the speed of his gait easily. "I do understand your anger, but it is in the past, and there is nothing we, or anyone, can do to change what happened that day." He said dejectedly.

"I know that!" Sanji spat at him, "That doesn't make it any better!"

He followed the tugging of the thread at a brisk pace. He was furious, _how can anyone be so despicable that they would burn people alive? It's unforgivable!_ He growled as he thought of the Celestial Dragons they had seen on Sabaody and how they had treated their slaves, and about Camie who was going to be sold to them. And then of Hatchi, who was shot only because he was a fishman. Luffy's unbridled rage towards them made a lot more sense now, if he had lived through that hell when he was younger. He chewed on his cigarette. He hated nobles, he always had. Ever since he was a kid. He gritted his teeth at the memories. _This fucking search is going to kill me!_

As they neared the gate Sanji could see the thread coiling around a cart not far from it. The walk had helped to calm him somewhat, but he was still angry. As he moved closer to the thread he felt his heart quicken its pace a little. He knew that the next memory would probably be a happy one, but he couldn't stop imagining how it must have looked like to be trapped in the fire, and a small part of him feared that if he touched the thread it would hurl him into it.

The Shepherd came up behind him, "Your fears are not unreasonable, but you are not stepping lightly anymore, we need to be careful with our thoughts, lest they bleed and become true. Remember, let your gait be firm, but not too hard."

"Lovely," Sanji said sarcastically, "And how do you propose I stop doing that?"

"By knowing that whatever we see, we have no control over, and that we are here to find Ace, not rescue him. Your fear of seeing the fire is not unreasonable, but it is your fear of being unable to help that is harmful to our search." The Shepherd had his eyes downcast, "It is my fear as well, my inability to help, but I have learned to control it, to not let it bleed into my thoughts."

"Well, you've had eons to do that, I've had, what? Half a day?" Sanji huffed, "Cut me some slack."

"I would if I could, but, contrary to what you might believe, we do not have all the time in the world. You must master your emotions or we will fail." The Shepherd looked at the gate and narrowed his eyes at it. "You may not like this place after what I told you, but your anger towards it will never be as deep as mine. And yet I do not let that anger bleed. You do well to remember that."

Sanji scowled at the old man before he looked back at the thread, _master my emotions, easy for you to say._ He let out an exasperated sigh, "Fine!"

He took a deep breath and held it; he could still feel the fury raging within himself. The need to hurt someone, a noble preferably, pulsed through his body. Again, he wished the marimo head was there so he could take his anger out on someone who could match his fighting. He gritted his teeth at the thought. He was being weak; the crew needed him to be strong, to be the tactician in their fights. The one who was able to see what needed to be done, and not charge in head first, feet blazing, that was Luffy and the mosshead's job. He let the breath he had been holding out slowly. He needed to calm down, to think rationally. If finding Ace would help Luffy heal, that was more important than his anger at something that happened in the past. He needed to focus on what needed to be done, his duty towards the Crone, and his vow to help Luffy. He took another deep breath and let it out slowly, feeling the tension in his body slowly ebb away. He was here to do one thing, find Ace and make sure he met with Luffy on Samhain; he needed to remember that.

"Good," The Shepherd nodded, "Please do your best to hold onto that focus going forward, you may be young, but you are not a young boy anymore, I refuse to be your conscience and guide you through this by holding your hand."

Sanji nodded and stretched out his hand to touch the thread, "I'll remember it."

* * *

 **AN** :

So, what do you think about the trip down memory lane so far? I'm not going to be showing every memory, there are enough fic's out there who do that already. But I still hope you'll enjoy my take on a memory-watching-fic.

And as always, please fav/follow and or leave a comment if you like it. I'd love to hear what you think about it. I also don't mind any criticism if you have some.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

There was talking all around them and Sanji couldn't help gaping at the scene in front of him. Men and women of all ages, wearing dirty and ragged clothes, were walking around them. Some were dragging makeshift carts with various items on them, and some were carrying heavy sacks on their backs. All of them heading towards the same place, the gate.

Suddenly he heard a loud creaking noise, and he watched in awe as the enormous doors of the gate slowly opened. Excited murmurs came from the people around him as it happened.

"I wonder how much I'll get for this clock. I swear it has some gold on it."

"You know, if I don't get at least four beri for this chair, I'll gut the bastard."

"Hah! Four beri's, are you mad? You'd be lucky if he gives you one!"

"Shut it Seti! I know the guy's a crook, but I'll be damned if he scams me again!"

"Hey Mariana, where'd you get that?"

"None of your damned business Pintin!"

Sanji had difficulty closing his mouth. There were so many of them, and they weren't fighting or shooting each other dirty looks. They were ragged and looked malnourished, yes, but they were bantering good naturedly with each other. They were talking animatedly with their neighbours in the queue, all equally excited about selling what they'd managed to find or mend since the previous day, though no one divulged in where they had actually found it.

"You seem surprised." The Shepherd raised an eyebrow at him. "Did you not believe them to have a community?"

Sanji swallowed, "I-," It was true; he had thought they would be solitary, angry and mad. Living in this trash, he couldn't imagine how people even survived out here. "No-," he admitted apologetically, "I thought they'd be starved and desperate." He saw himself as he was about to kill the old geezer on that rock, and he bowed his head in shame at the thought.

"They might be untrusting of others, but they, like us all, crave human interaction as well. But do not pity them." The Shepherd watched them as they passed them by, "Many are content with living out here, and most do in fact hate the city within this wall."

Sanji looked at them again, he could get where the old man was coming from. A lot of them did seem, not exactly happy, but somehow genuinely okay.

A tall man suddenly made his way past next to him, and Sanji instinctively stepped aside. The man was wearing a cloak and was dragging a cart with him, a dirty sheet covering what was on it. As Sanji stared after him he noticed something was off about the way he moved. When he looked back on the cart he saw a scaled tail peeking out from underneath the sheet. "You can't be serious?" He chuckled.

The Shepherd chuckled as well at the scene, "I must admit, the disguise it not bad."

They decided to follow after the man, whom they could now see had way too small feet for his body. "Stacking on top of each other like that-," Sanji shook his head as he continued to chuckle, "Why are they even doing that?"

"I have an idea that they might not be welcomed in the city, I do wonder if we will see the reason why in this memory." The Shepherd smiled fondly.

"Hmm, I wouldn't be surprised if it was Luffy's fault. The Ace we met at Alabasta was refined and polite. Though I must admit that what little I've seen of Ace, and this Sabo kid until now, hasn't been too unlike how Luffy acts to be honest."

The Shepherd nodded, "Yes, but you must remember they were only boys here, and dare I say, quite unruly ones at that."

They walked with the boys as they made their way through the gate, and Sanji whistled as he looked around them; it was nearly as bad as in the Grey Terminal. The houses had boarded up windows with bars on them, and most people were walking with their heads down. As Sanji looked up he saw a sign that said Edge Town, "Edge Town?"

"Yes, this is the lowest step on the ladder in the hierarchy in this despicable kingdom, not counting the Grey Terminal, which in the minds of the nobles does not even exist." The hatred in the Shepherd voice as he said it was palpable. "This is where the criminals with just enough money to survive lives, and most live off of trickery, deceit, and other unsavoury businesses."

Sanji could see people slinking in the shadows between buildings, their eyes shining with contempt and malice. "If I didn't know the boys could fight decently I'd be worried for their lives walking through here."

"I quite agree."

Almost as soon as they had said it, a gang of thugs stopped the boys in their tracks. One of them got in their face as the rest circled around them, effectively cutting off any way of escape. Sanji and the Shepherd just raised an eyebrow as a metal staff shot out from under the cloak and tripped the supposed leader of the gang.

"When you mug someone you better be prepared for who you're messing with." The mirth in Ace's tone as he said it made Sanji grin. And when they threw the cloak off, he couldn't help chuckle at the sight of it. There they were, stacked on top of each other, Ace on top, Luffy in the middle, and Sabo at the bottom. He almost felt sorry of the Sabo kid, having to carry the weight of the two boys on his shoulders, but it didn't look like it was weighing him down at all.

"That Sabo kid gotta be pretty strong to not break a sweat with carrying those two." He said a little impressed.

The boys jumped off each other, staffs raised, and Sanji saw that Luffy had one as well now. When they charged at the thugs he saw that their teamwork had gotten a lot better, and Luffy had a lot more synergy with the other two boys. "This must be a while since the last memory, their fighting is a lot better."

"I suppose you are correct in that assessment," The Shepherd looked up at the sky and smiled fondly before he looked back at the boys, with a thoughtful expression on his face. "I believe this is a few months since the last one, it would seem that Sabo has been living with the boys since then." The boys made quick work of the thugs, before putting their cloak back on. This time Luffy was at the bottom and Sabo in the middle, and started walking again like nothing had happened. Sanji and the Shepherd fell in step behind them. "They had a conflict with a band of pirates around the time of the previous memory, and Sabo, who had been living close to the Grey Terminal up until then, decided it would be safer for him to live with Ace and Luffy from then on."

"He lived in the Grey Terminal all by himself? But he's like what? Ten years old at this point?" Sanji stared at the figure in front of them, his eyes on the middle part where Sabo was.

"Yes, he ran away from home when he was around five years old." The Shepherd nodded sadly.

"He ran away from home when he was FIVE?" Sanji yelled out in shock. Not even he had dared doing that at that age.

"Yes, he was quite an unhappy child." The Shepherd nodded again.

Before Sanji could say anything more however, the boys had stepped onto a new street, and his jaw fell open at the sight in front of them. It was like stepping in to another world. The cobblestone was so clean it was glistening; the houses were painted in vibrant colours, and again almost revoltingly clean. Sanji was sure he could eat off of the surfaces. "Wha-What the hell?"

"Yes, this is the Town Center-," The Shepherd said with an edge to his voice as he looked around them, his eyes shadowed, "As you can see, it is appallingly clean."

"I get it now, about it being called the cleanest and most beautiful kingdom in East Blue, but this is just abhorrent!" Sanji glared at the people around them.

The Shepherd only nodded, and they walked in silence for a little while as they watched the boys trade the crocodile skin for a decent amount of beri, though Sanji suspected that they had been ripped off. The boys didn't seem to mind however, and Sanji heard them mutter about how happy they were they weren't found out. Luffy was praising Ace for being a good actor, and both Sabo and Ace shushed him for talking too loud.

When the boys didn't turn back towards Edge Town, but instead headed further in to the Town Center, he started to wonder what they were up to. The people around them were giving them a wide berth, and he would have swooned at the all the beautiful ladies if it hadn't been for the disgusted look on their faces, and them hastily shying away from them while covering their mouth and nose with a handkerchief. As if the boys were contagious. When he saw the men do the same, he scowled at them, _those fucking stuck up bastards!_ He would never dare to call a woman something as uncouth as that, it wasn't their fault. The men however, oh how he wished he could kick their faces in.

The boys didn't seem to care about the people around them however, and Sanji heard Ace ask them if they wanted ramen for dinner, to which both Sabo and Luffy wondered what was. Ace wouldn't tell them however and just told them to wait for it.

They followed the boys in silence, and Sanji saw that the Shepherd wore the same expression on his face as he did, contempt. Yes, he understood the old man perfectly if he had watched this place for centuries without it ever changing. Having to watch as they murder people again and again, and not thinking much of it because they don't even consider the people humans. He glared at the men as they passed them until they suddenly stood in front of a ramen restaurant.

He blinked as they stopped so abruptly, having been so absorbed in his own thoughts as they walked, he hadn't even noticed where they were going. As he looked up at the restaurant he heard Ace mutter gleefully, "This is the place," before they stepped into the building.

Inside, a man stood ready to accommodate them, but as he laid eyes on the ragged looking man in the door, he paled, "W-Wait a minute!" He stammered waiving his hands in front of him, "Your kind isn't welcomed here!" Sanji scowled at him and growled low through his clenched teeth, _those insolent bastards, refusing someone food just because of their appearance._ He longed to give these people a proper beating.

Before he could speak his mind however, a hand peeked out from beneath the cloak holding some sort of jewellery with a flower adorned on it. And he heard Sabo tell the man, in an attempt at a deeper voice, that he would like a private room. Sanji was about to ask about it when the greeter changed his demeanour completely, bowing low and stammering that he would find them a private parlour right away. "It's such an honour that a noble would grace us with their company."

Sanji raised his eyebrow at the Shepherd who only shook his head.

"That's a handy thing you've got there." Ace muttered quietly as the man ran off.

"Ah, I just found it somewhere not long ago." Sabo muttered back offhandedly, but Sanji heard the hesitation in his voice. _He's lying._

"What was that crest?" Sanji asked the Shepherd as the boys were being led up the stairs to a private parlour on the fourth floor of the restaurant.

"That was the crest belonging to a noble family living in High Town, the head of that house is called Outlook," The Shepherd answered grimly as he watched Sabo with a sad look in his eyes.

"A noble family crest?" He looked at Sabo too, "You mean? Sabo is noble born?"

"That is correct," The Shepherd nodded, "He was their only heir."

Sanji couldn't do anything besides stare at the back of the figure in front of them as they ascended the stairs. His respect for the young guy rose to a new level; this kid ran away from that wretched life when he was five, he himself had only been able to escape his personal hell when he was ten.

The Shepherd opened his mouth to say something and closed it sharply, but Sanji couldn't help noticing the look he gave him.

He sighed. "It's hard to not see the parallel between me and Sabo, isn't it? Both noble born, and both running away from that life when we were younger."

"Yes, I am truly sorry that it is bringing you pain to see this." The Shepherd said sadly.

Sanji didn't answer and the boys were finally led to their private room. Ace ordered them three large bowls of ramen, and the beautiful waitress bowed profusely as she took their order.

They watched as the boys ordered bowl after bowl after bowl, but he couldn't even find the humour in it as it became more and more ridiculous, even when the Shepherd had started chuckling beside him. He watched Sabo and wondered how bad it had been for him, what it had took for him to finally say, fuck it I'm done, and leave. He was dragged out of his musings however when the door was suddenly yanked open and both the waitress and the guy who had greeted them burst through it. There was a pregnant pause as they looked at the three boys, all with food stuffed in their mouths.

"Shit! They found out!" Ace cried in surprise.

"We gotta go!" Sabo yelled before they all headed for the window.

Sanji stared after them, "We're on the fourth floor! Are they mad?" But as he ran after them, he saw that they landed safely on an overhang and jumped off before taking off down the street. He looked at the Shepherd who only shrugged and jumped out after them. What happened next however took him by an even bigger surprise, instead of falling down; the old man seemed to glide through the air before touching down lightly on the ground, and just started walking calmly, but briskly in the direction the boys were heading. "What the fuck?"

The Shepherd stopped and looked at him, "Are you coming?"

Sanji had to shake his head to bring himself out of the stupor, before he too jumped out the window. And to his surprise he too seemed to float down to the street.

"What the fuck was that?" He yelled at the old man as they started walking briskly in the direction the boys were running.

Before the Shepherd could reply however they saw a man dressed in a dark blue suit with a top hat, not too dissimilar to the one Sabo was wearing, yell after the boys, calling out for Sabo if it was truly him. Even at the distance Sanji could see the terror in Sabo's eyes as he looked at the man. But when the man tried to pursue them still yelling out for Sabo, Sabo took the lead and ran off, the two other boys staring at him for a second before joining him.

Sanji stared at the man, "I can only surmise that this is Sabo's father?"

"That is correct, and he is just as vile as most other nobles." The Shepherd nodded grimly before hastily making his way in the direction the boys had ran off.

Sanji shook his head and jogged after him, glaring at the man as he passed him. "So, wanna tell me what the fuck happened when we jumped out of that window? 'Cause that was weird as shit!"

"Ah yes," The Shepherd nodded, "You still have no recollection of our last time, my apologies." He gave Sanji a small smile, "When we are within the memories we are not bound by the same laws of physics as those we are watching."

When Sanji just looked at him with a blank stare he coughed a little. "You see, we are not strictly here in this world, meaning that we do not follow the rules of it. We can jump from high places and not fall down, we can also-," they boys had gotten away from them so he slowed and stepped over to a building and touched it, "Ah, it seems that the memory ended before I could show you." He shook his head. "No matter, you see, when we are in a memory we are able to also pass through objects. It is not exactly pleasant, but it makes it easier to move from place to place. I will have to show you in the next one."

"So we're like ghosts?" Sanji asked as he scanned the street around them, his eyes narrowed in a scowl. It was still unnaturally clean, but all the people were suddenly gone. "Yeah, that's not weird at all."

"Not exactly, but you will see what I mean when we find the next memory." The Shepherd looked at him.

Sanji nodded as he continued to scowl "Sure, ugh, I hate this place," He felt the familiar tug of the thread in his chest. "Let's go, we're heading back to the Grey Terminal it seems."

The Shepherd looked around at the buildings as well, disgust etched on his face, "Good, I do not wish to linger in this wretched place any longer than I have to."

* * *

 **AN** :

I did say I'm trying to not make this depressing and angsty, right? Well emphasis on trying okay, it's so ingrained in me and my writing style, it's hard to stop. And also, it's Sanji, the character who's had the most depressing and angsty childhood ever, how can you not add that in? It will (hopefully) get more lighthearted later.

Anyway, thank you so much for reading it this far, and not giving up in those first few chapters.  
Please fav/follow and or leave a review if you want. I would love some feedback.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

As they were walking through Edge Town, neither having said a word since they started making their way out of the Town Center, Sanji caught sight of something darting quick as a flash on the roof tops in his peripheral. When he snapped his head in the direction of it however, it was gone. _What is that thing?_

"What is it?" The Shepherd looked at him, and then in the direction he was watching.

"Something is following us." Sanji said narrowing his eyes as he scanned the rooftops.

"I believe it is more in the lines of, we are following it." The Shepherd looked thoughtful as he looked at the rooftops as well, before turning his eyes back on towards the wall and started walking again.

"You mean, that was the real Ace?" Sanji tore his eyes away from the roofs and stared at the Shepherd.

"He is the one controlling what we see, and I did tell you that he would undoubtedly be watching them as well." The Shepherd still had that thoughtful look on his face as he kept walking.

"So how come I couldn't feel him, I'm able to feel and see his spirit thread. Shouldn't that be linked to him directly?" Sanji looked around them; it was slightly off-putting walking through the streets when there were no people there.

"Yes and no, he is hidden from us as I have said. The thread is connected to his memories, which in turn is connected to him. I must admit I do not fully understand it myself." He shrugged. "In some people's afterlife the thread is connected to them directly, and in others it is routed through their memories, I do not know why that is."

"So we still have to find the next memory? I wonder how long we'll have to walk this time. This island is huge." Sanji huffed as they neared the gate, which was, thankfully, still open.

"I am afraid so." The Shepherd nodded.

"This sucks." He kicked a pebble through the gate before walking through it and into the Grey Terminal, where all the people had disappeared again, just like everywhere else. "I must admit it's pretty eerie here when all the people are gone."

The Shepherd only nodded as he looked around them at the mountains of trash, the fog still heavily obscuring the vastness of the area. "I do not wish to linger here, please lead the way. I pray our next memory is not in this horrid place."

Sanji nodded, he shared the Shepherd's sentiment, he didn't want to be there any longer as well. He focused on the thread; it was faint, but going towards the forest again. "No worries, we're heading back to the forest." He said gruffly as he started walking back the way they had come.

They made their way through the rubble in silence; there was nothing to speak about really as they both watched the dismal scenery around them.

Once they made it up the slope to the treeline Sanji felt he could finally breathe freely again. It was such a stark contrast to the sad and grey world of the Grey Terminal. Lush green grass and large trees that stretched high up towards the clear blue sky, the line between the two was like night and day.

"I believe we still have a long walk ahead of us, would you like to hear the rest of the story as we walk?" The Shepherd asked him as he gazed up at the trees, a more content look on his face.

Sanji felt the tug of the thread, it was still faint. When they had found the previous one it had gotten stronger the closer they got, so he agreed with the Shepherd, it would be a long walk to the next one. "About The Shandian Chief? Sure, why not." He shrugged; they had nothing better to do anyways.

The Shepherd nodded and smiled warmly at him, "Good, we could use some cheering up after that ordeal, the second memory we saw was a lot more cheerful you see." He smiled more brightly now, "It was of the Shandian Chief telling the story of the great warrior Calgara to the children of the village. You were quite enthralled by it, as was all the children and quite a few of the grown women and men of the tribe as well. I understood their feelings quite well. It is a marvellous tale of bravery and friendship, I am sad to say that it is mostly untrue however, as I did meet with both Calgara and Noland after their passing and was told the truth of their friendship."

Sanji hummed as he thought of the story of Noland the Liar, he wasn't surprised that it was mostly untrue, most stories that had been told from mouth to mouth for a long time before being written was mostly that, exaggerated retellings of an event no one could remember. It was like the game he had seen some children play at the Baratie called Pass the Whisper, in its simplicity one kid would start by whispering a sentence to another kid, and that kid would whisper it to another kid, and that kid would whisper it to another, and so on, until the final kid would say the sentence out loud. It never failed to have changed completely from what was originally said. It was why he never trusted a story told to him by someone else, other than the person who experienced, it to be honest. But that didn't deter him from enjoying a good story nonetheless. "I'm not surprised," he shrugged.

"You are thinking of the book about Noland, and while that is not only horrendously poorly written, it is also the furthest you can get from the truth. The story told by the Chief was a much different tale. In short it told the story of how Noland came to Jaya and helped the Shandians when a decease had spread through their sacred forest, and had begun affecting the people. And how he halted the sacrifice of an innocent young girl, and killed an ancient snake that the Shandians thought of as a god. At first Noland was despised by what he had done, but when Calgara learned of the reason he did it, a friendship blossomed between them. So when the island was brought into the sky the Shandians goal was not to only find their city, but to ring the golden bell so that Noland's decedents would know where they were." The Shepherd smiled warmly at Sanji, "Though that story is closer to the truth than that atrocious book, it is a glorified version of it, as you can imagine would happen when the story has been told ad nauseam for over four hundred years."

Sanji nodded, now that he was told about it, he did sort of remember hearing a tale like that, which he again had no recollection of where he had heard it from. He remembered being annoyed when he read the book when he was younger, because the story didn't feel right. He had of course jutted it down to it being a story meant to keep children from lying and that none of it was real, but he had never been able to shake the feeling of it being something more than just a children's story. "So? What really happened?"

The Shepherd stroked his goatee, "Well, as you have probably gathered, the Shandian's are very quick to resort to bloodshed, the war on Skypiea is a clear example of that. So when Noland and his crew arrived at Jaya, the Shandian's did not take kindly to their visit as one would imagine. They did their outmost to chase the newcomers from their land, resulting in loss of life on both sides. But Noland refused to leave," The Shepherd chuckled, "He was a good man, but profoundly stubborn." He smiled at Sanji, "He was not unlike your captain in many ways. He was set on exploring the island, and he would not be hindered by anyone. He did, as the Shandians tell in their stories, find a decease that was killing the tribe, and he did kill the ancient snake, Kashigami, as he was about to kill a young girl being sacrificed to appease the gods. But what is not told in the stories is that Noland was imprisoned, tortured, and was about to be executed by Calgara himself, until Calgara fell victim of the decease. Noland tried desperately to convince the Shandians that he could cure him, but they refused to listen. So Noland decided he would prove them wrong and after days of coming up with a plan he managed to escape. But instead of rushing back to his ship and crew he snuck in to Calgara's tent and gave him an antidote for the decease. He was, as you can imagine, caught again, and went through several more days of imprisonment until Calagara, still weak and pale from the illness, came to him and demanded to know why he had done it, after all they had done to him and his crew. Noland's simple reply had been, because he felt like it."

Sanji couldn't help the chuckle that left him at hearing that, it was something Luffy would have said. When the Shepherd looked at him quizzically he just waved his hand to indicate he should continue the story.

"The truth, which Noland later told me, was that he knew that Calgara was just protecting his tribe, and he knew that he was a good person, they had just gotten off on the wrong foot." The Shepherd shook his head, "I must admit I have difficulty understanding his reasoning, even if I share in his kindness and understanding of others."

"You're right he does sound a lot like Luffy," Sanji chuckled again, "I can see him doing the same thing."

"He is much the same as Roger as well," The Shepherd chuckled softly, and just shook his head at the surprised look on Sanji's face, "Do not worry, that is a different tale we will no doubt delve into later. Now, as for Calgara, you can imagine his shock at being told he was saved by a stranger, whom he had chased, imprisoned, tortured and was about to murder, all because Noland supposedly felt like it. He had been outraged, and had felt it to be a great insult to his pride. But yet again Noland surprised him by getting angry at him for wishing to throw away his life like that. He had then asked him if he was willing to let his people suffer, merely because he was too prideful to accept help from a stranger. Calgara had only sneered at him at that, and left him where he was, still tied up."

"So Calgara didn't release him after he had just saved his ass? That's shitty of him." Sanji muttered.

"Oh yes, but it was not long before he came back-," The Shepherd chuckled softly, "With his tail between his legs as it were as well. You see, the day after this Calagara's own daughter, and the Chief's son had both contracted the disease, and Calgara had no option other than to swallow his pride and ask Noland for his aid."

Sanji hummed, "Well, that's karma for you, I guess."

The Shepherd nodded, "You could call it that I suppose, but the fact of the matter was that Calgara, who had never in his life needed aid from anyone, was now forced to receive aid from someone, and an outsider at that."

"Hmm, I can get why that must have been hard on him. So, they became friends after that, or what?"

"In a manner of speaking, it was more that Noland had earned Calgara's respect, enough to allow him and his crew to destroy their sacred trees, and save the rest of the villagers who had been infected. It took them a few weeks with trading stories, and learning about each other's customs and history for them to build a friendship. It took a month after Noland and his crew had saved the tribe, before Calgara decided that he trusted them enough to bring them to Shandora, the city of gold. Of course you know the rest of the story, how Noland arrived back in his kingdom and told the king of his travels, and how by the time he came back to Jaya half of the island was gone."

Sanji nodded, "So I get a story changing over time, but it's a big leap going from that to the story that is told today though."

"That is true, I suppose the Shandian's wanted to make Calgara out to be the hero, and not Noland. He is their idol after all." The Shepherd looked thoughtfully up at the sky, before shifting his gaze to the forest around them, "Are we getting nearer to the thread, or do we have time to delve into the third and final memory?"

Sanji had felt the tugging from the thread become progressively stronger as they had made their way deeper into the forest and up a hill, he could feel that it was close by now. "No, we're almost there."

Not even a minute later they came to a clearing on a hilltop, and Sanji stopped as he stared at what was in front of them. A ramshackle building stood on the highest point with a lookout tower on the side of it. "Where the fuck are we?"

"This, I believe is Mt. Colubo, home to the mountain bandits led by Curly Dadan, The Dadan family." The Shepherd looked curiously at the building, "I believe this is the place Ace, Luffy and Sabo lived and called their home."

"The kids lived here?" Sanji asked incredulously, staring at the building in front of him, before he noticed something glinting in his peripheral. Turning around sharply he saw the thread coiled around a boulder close to a trail leaving on the opposite side of the hilltop.

"I have not been here before, but it would seem so." The Shepherd looked at the building, an unreadable expression on his face.

Sanji made his way gingerly over to the boulder and reached out towards the thread, "I guess there's only one way to find out though, maybe we'll get the answer in this memory."

* * *

 **AN** :  
So, I don't know if I'll be able to upload chapter 13 tomorrow. I'm gonna try, but it might not be out until wednesday or thursday.  
I love all of you who are following it, members and guests alike. You make me want to continue writing.

And as always: Please fav/follow and or leave a review if you're enjoying it so far.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Someone was pounding on the door to the bandit's house, and as Sanji turned around to see what was going on, he couldn't help the yelp that escaped his lips at what he saw. A large man in a black suit was standing there, his hair was greying, but Sanji saw immediately who it was. "G-Garp? What the hell is he doing here?" Then he noticed Luffy, wearing his trademark strawhat, running excitedly around the area. He looked younger, not by much, but definitely younger than in the previous memory. "What the-,"

The door to the house was torn open and a burly woman with bushy, orange, curly hair and a cigarette in her mouth stood in the doorway.

"Stop it! You wanna get killed or what?" She roared in Garps face, before she paled as she saw who it was.

"It's me!" Garp said dryly in his gruff voice. And Sanji could understand when the woman, whom he presumed was Dadan, jumped back in fear. He would probably have done the same thing.

"G-Garp-san?" She screeched.

At her scream two people popped their heads out from behind her, equally terrified looks on their faces. One was a small man with a turban on his head and wearing a dungaree with pink polka dots on it. The other was a larger man who, in Sanji's eyes, looked like something akin a rooster with a wattle on his chin and a red comb on his head instead of hair.

There was a pregnant pause as they just stared at him in shock.

"You're all looking well, I see." Garp said good naturedly.

"You gotta be kidding me! A little mercy goes a long way you know." She screeched at him. "Don't you know Ace is ten years old already?" Sanji raised an eyebrow at that.

"Is he now, has it been that long already. He's doing good I presume?" Garp laughed cheerfully as Luffy had started running around them.

The Shepherd had slowly made his way over to him as he watched the scene that was transpiring in front of them.

The little man looked up at Garp, a look of exasperation on his face, "It's not funny. He's uncontrollable and wild! We can't keep him here any longer."

 _Ace? Uncontrollable and wild?_ Sanji frowned, sure the Ace he had seen running around with Luffy and Sabo was unruly, but they made him sound like a wild animal.

"God, that kid is annoying!" Dadan suddenly barked as Luffy was still running around between them.

Garp lifted Luffy up by the scruff of his neck, "Look after this one, too. Hey Luffy, say hello to them!"

Luffy lifted his head at them and gave them a quick, "Yo!" And both the Shepherd and Sanji couldn't help chuckle at that.

"I guess this could explain why Luffy wasn't in sync with Ace and Sabo in the first fight we saw, and why they didn't know he had eaten a devil fruit," Sanji mused out loud as they watched Dadan and the two men shout in surprise when Garp told them Luffy was his grandson. "I thought he and Ace had known each other all their lives."

The Shepherd looked at Garp, a look of concentration on his face. "It seems that Luffy had been living in a small town on the other side of this hill until now. If what I can understand from Garp is correct, he feels that it will be better for Luffy's safety to live here, where he will be hidden from potential harm that may befall him because of his father."

Sanji looked at Dadan and the two men as they screamed at Garp that they had enough with dealing with Ace. They were definitely bandits, and by the look of the clothes hanging out to dry, he reckoned there was a lot more of them inside. "I get hiding him away, with Dragon being his father and all, but this place?" He watched as Garp was threatening them with jail time if they didn't take Luffy now, and Sanji couldn't help pitying them a little.

Garp let Luffy down, who proceeded to pick his nose, not a care in the world of where he had just been forced to live by his grandfather. When Dadan asked Garp exasperated if he was just as much of a monster as Ace was. Luffy piped up saying that he hated mountain bandits, and then ran off chasing a dragonfly as Dadan yelled at him, before deflating as Luffy wasn't listening.

"I see his attention span hasn't changed since he was a kid," Sanji shook his head as he chuckled.

Suddenly something hit Luffy's face and Sanji turned around quickly, expecting an enemy. What he saw made his insides turn cold. Ace was sitting, not even ten feet away from him, on top of a dead buffalo, his eyes icy, and full of hatred and loathing as he looked at Luffy. "What the-,"

"Hey you! Apologise! That was gross!" Luffy screamed up at him, not even showing a trace of fear.

From behind them they heard Garp call out happily for Ace, and the bandits shouting in surprise that he was back.

"I must admit, I did not expect to see Ace with such an expression." The Shepherd looked worryingly at Ace, who still hadn't moved as he continued to stare at Luffy, clear contempt in his eyes.

"He's-," Sanji swallowed. "He's a totally different kid, what the hell is going on?"

"Luffy, this is Ace," Garp came over to where they were standing, and looked up at Ace like he wasn't bothered at all with the look on his adopted grandson's face. "He's three years older than you. From today you'll be living with them."

Sanji heard the surprised yells from Dadan at that, but he couldn't take his eyes away from Ace, who was still looking at Luffy in the same way. It didn't even seem like he had acknowledged that Garp was there at all. Luffy was growling up at him now, but before he could snap Garp bonked him on the head. "Try getting along, okay?"

"You think this is settled?" Dadan screamed from behind them.

When Garp looked around at them, giving them a dark glare, Sanji couldn't help shaking his head at their reaction. In their terrified state they became completely compliant, and promised to take care of the boys. "Can't say I blame them, I don't think I would want to be on the receiving end of his fists."

"I'll come by and visit when I have time." Garp called out as he turned to leave, and they heard the trio behind them complain as they watched him walk calmly down the trail.

Sanji narrowed his eyes at him, "So he just threw Luffy at them, and then left?" he looked back at Ace and Luffy, where Ace had just jumped off the buffalo and was walking towards the house. Completely ignoring Luffy now, who was glaring at him. "I won't lie, with Luffy's reaction to him in Water 7 I figured he wasn't the parental sort, but-," He trailed off as Luffy, with a more determined look on his face, followed after Ace as he headed into the house.

"You are correct, it is rare that a D actually raises their own young." The Shepherd had a thoughtful look on his face as they followed after the boys.

"What do you mean?" Sanji looked at him curiously, but before he could get an answer they saw as Luffy was suddenly jumped by a horde of bandits.

"Who the hell are you?" One of them whispered threateningly as he held a knife to Luffy's throat.

Sanji raised an eyebrow at the scene as the bandits interrogated Luffy, "They're in for a shock."

He was right, as soon as the tiny guy with the turban revealed the shocking news of who Luffy was, the entire band started screaming in shock, and then yelled out that Dadan was gutless. Sanji narrowed his eyes at them for that, _she may be a tough woman, but she's still a woman. They should show her some respect._

"Shut up you bastards!" Dadan roared at them and slammed an enormous bowl of meat on the floor. "It's time for dinner!"

Sanji couldn't help staring at the mayhem that ensued after that. People dove at the food like starved animals, and he suddenly understood why Luffy fought over food like he did. It was utter chaos, and Sanji felt a twinge of pity when he saw that Luffy didn't get anything.

In the end Luffy ended up sitting next to the hearth with a bowl of rice and a glass of water, it was such a pitiful sight that Sanji's couldn't help feel a little sorry for him. Ace who was sitting on the opposite side had secured himself a small bowl of meat, and Dadan was happily munching on a piece herself.

Luffy tipped the bowl of rice in his mouth and held the bowl out, before he looked up at Dadan with the most miserable expression Sanji had ever seen on his face, and shouted, "Seconds! Old man I want seconds!"

Before he could yell at Luffy for being rude, Dadan cut him to the chase and barked at Luffy that she was a woman.

"Don't you even know where you are? She towered over the little boy.

"No." Luffy answered, still having that miserable look on his face.

"Well, then I'll tell you!" She loomed over him, "This is the hideout for the Dadan Family, the mountain bandits who rule over Mt. Colubo."

"Mountain bandits?" Luffy looked at her with a mix of resentment and annoyance, "I hate mountain bandits."

"That's not a look I see on him often, I wonder what that's all about." Sanji said with a raised eyebrow.

"Apparently he had a run in with a gang when he was living in Foosha, the pirate, Shanks, who gave him his hat, apparently lost his arm trying to save Luffy from their leader." The Shepherd frowned as he looked at Luffy, who was now being barked at by Dadan about how he could just run away and die for all she cared.

"Hang on," Sanji looked between Luffy, who was pouting again and looking forlornly at his empty bowl, and the Shepherd, "Shanks? Red-hair Shanks gave Luffy his hat? And Luffy is the reason Shank's only has one arm now?" He stared back at the small boy, "That's a heavy burden to bear." He would know, he himself was the reason Zeff had lost his leg.

"You were not aware of this?" The Shepherd raised an eyebrow at him.

"No, not really," Sanji tried thinking back, "Only thing I can remember him telling us about it, is that he made a promise to someone to give it back once he became the Pirate King." Dadan was dangling a piece of meat in front of Luffy's face before retracting it just as he tried chomping down on it.

"Ah," The Shepherd looked keenly at Luffy, "Did you ever ask him about it?"

Sanji frowned as he thought about it, "No, I don't think I have."

"There is your answer to why you never knew." The Shepherd suddenly smiled knowingly, "He is a complex man, your captain. If I am right, the reason he has never told you about it is because he believes that since it is in the past, it has no real consequence of what is happening in the present. And since he shows little interest in your past, he does not think his past will be of much interest to you, as again, it has little to do with what is happening now."

Sanji kept his eyes on Luffy as Dadan tried to scare him with everything she would be forcing him to do. "I guess that makes sense. When Nami-swan's sister offered to tell us her story, he left, saying he didn't care about it."

Luffy didn't even blink as Dadan told him that he would have to raise himself, and just answered with a quick "Alright," to which Dadan fell over in shock, smashing her head in the floor, cracking the floorboards.

"You're okay with it? You're supposed to be crying by now!"

"Grandpa's left me in the jungle a few times." Luffy said noncommittedly like it was a normal occurrence. "Earthworms, lizards, snakes, mushrooms-," He smiled as he clenched his fist, as if ready to take on the world. "If we're in a forest there's a whole lot of stuff I can eat. Besides, I'm gonna become a pirate someday, so I have to be able to do at least that much."

"Garp left him in the jungle?" Sanji gaped. "We've already established he's not the parental sort, but what the hell?"

The Shepherd shook his head and chuckled next to him, "I am not sure if that is a D trait or just a Monkey family trait, but I would not be surprised if some of Luffy's immense will to live stems from his harsh upbringing by Garp."

"Harsh? It's damn near child abuse!" Sanji huffed, _not that my upbringing was any better._ "Hey, you said earlier that it was rare for a D to be raised by their parents, what did you mean by that?"

"Well, the majority of them become orphans at a very young age. Take Ace for example-," They both looked at Ace who had just stood up, clutching his metal staff, ignoring everyone and still with that icy look in his eyes. "His mother, who was also born a D, died right after giving birth to him, and his father died before he was even born," He looked sadly over at Luffy, who was looking at Ace as he was about to leave, "Luffy has never know his mother, I am still unsure if she was born a D, too, or not. And his father is the leader of the revolutionaries." They nodded a silent agreement at each other and followed after Ace, as Luffy ran after him. Dadan screaming exasperated at Luffy from behind them. "Dragon undoubtedly felt it was safer to leave him in Garp's care as he is a high ranking marine and would be better suited to keep him safe."

They stepped outside and saw Ace heading for the forest; they nodded again and followed him. It was unnerving to see the deep hatred in his eyes.

"There are many more D's who also became orphans at a young age, or was left in the care of someone who was more suited to keep them safe." The Shepherd looked up at the sky frowning, "Being born a D is a dangerous thing. They are more often than not rebels in their own way, and they never cease to give the World Government an immense amount of grief."

"Hey! Wait up!" Ace stopped when he had made it to the top of a nearby hill, Luffy was running towards him and shouting. He glared down at Luffy clearly ticked off, as the little boy stopped at the bottom of the hill, waving his hands, a smile on his face. "I'm Luffy! I'm not mad at you for spitting me in the face anymore!"

A vein appeared on Ace's forehead as Luffy kept smiling and waving up at him.

"It's nothing to get worked up about! Let's be friends!"

"If I didn't know they'll end up as sworn brothers-," Sanji was cut off mid-sentence as Ace shot out his foot and kicked the tree next to him, toppling it over so it rolled down towards Luffy. "What the fuck!"

Luffy screamed as he ran down the trail, the tree getting closer and closer until it smashed into him when he got to a boulder and wasn't able to escape.

Sanji stared open mouthed at Ace, who still glared down at Luffy with a look of deep contempt. "Was he trying to kill him?" He roared. He couldn't believe what he just saw. Ace was stone cold as he looked impassively down at what he had just done. "He should be grateful Luffy is rubber, or he would have died!"

The Shepherd looked at Ace with a conflicted look on his face, but didn't say anything.

When Ace turned to leave, Sanji had to tear his eyes away from where Luffy was undoubtedly laying beneath the tree, struggling to free himself, and followed after him.

"This is a very long memory." The Shepherd mused as they followed Ace through the forest.

Sanji was still staring at Ace, his angry look never leaving his face. "Is that unusual?"

"It does happen occasionally, but mostly with people who has been in their summerland for a long time. I would say that, yes, it is unusual for someone to have this level of control on the manipulation of time and space in their land. Especially when they have been here for such a short amount of time, as Ace has."

"Huh-," Sanji looked around them, "So Ace has mastered it already. I can't say I'm surprised."

"You are not? May I inquire as to why?" The Shepherd kept his eyes on Ace, a look of contemplation on his face.

"I don't know-," Sanji shrugged, "Maybe because of Luffy's ability to master his abilities as quickly as he has, I reckon Ace is the same with most things as well."

The Shepherd stroked his goatee, "You might be right, they are quick studies, even if it does not seem like it at first. Luffy more so than Ace I would say, but they definitely do share that trait, I do wonder if that is a D trait as well."

Sanji nodded, "I wouldn't be surprised by that either."

They soon came to a hanging bridge with a deep ravine below it, and as they were almost at the end of it they felt it vibrate. Sanji turned around shocked; Luffy was at the other end, scratched up, twigs in his hair, and he was panting heavily.

"If anything, he is tenacious." The Shepherd had an eyebrow raised as he looked at a thoroughly exhausted Luffy.

Sanji looked back at Ace, who again had narrowed his eyes in contempt at Luffy and walked slowly towards him, his grip on the staff tight. _This isn't good._

Luffy was grinning wide as he saw Ace coming towards him, but Sanji paled as he felt the murderous intent coming from him. He could only watch on as Ace shot his staff out and struck Luffy so hard he flew off the bridge and down into the ravine below. "I-," He stared at Ace in shock, "I-, I don't believe it." He stuttered, "I felt it. He-, He was ready to kill Luffy." He was frozen, he couldn't believe it, Ace hadn't gone in with the intent of just harming Luffy, or get him away, he was ready to kill him.

"I agree with you, this is not what I had expected to see." The Shepherd stared in shock at Ace as well.

"And this is one of Ace's _good_ memories?" Sanji stared transfixed at Ace who was walking calmly by them. As if he just hadn't tried to kill a little boy.

"I wouldn't exactly call it a good memory Sanji." A voice suddenly called out from behind them.

* * *

 **AN** :

Thank you to everyone who are reading the story, I love you guys!  
I'm a little behind schedule on the next few chapters, but I hope I have more time to write these next couple of days, so I'm not sure when 14 will be up. But it will be published sometime this weekend, I promise!

As always, please fav/follow and or review if you're liking it so far. I'd love to hear what you think about it.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

"Ace?" Sanji spun around, fully expecting a fully grown Ace to be standing behind them at the end of the bridge. When he turned around however, there was nobody there. He scanned the forest around them; there was no trace of the ravenhaired young man he'd met in Alabasta anywhere.

"ACE?" He yelled out, but there was no response, instead he felt a strong tug from the spirit thread going in the direction just north of the Grey Terminal. "Fucking firebug!" he grumbled.

The Shepherd raised an eyebrow as he looked around as well, "Now, that, I rarely experience."

"What the fuck was that?" Sanji growled, still looking around them. The younger Ace had disappeared a few moments earlier, fading out of existence in front of their eyes.

"I am honestly not sure," The Shepherd had furrowed his brows in contemplation and confusion.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Sanji spat at him, "You've been doing this for eons! How can you not know?"

The Shepherd sighed. "I have my theories, but I could be wrong."

Sanji had started walking in the direction of the thread, the tugging becoming increasingly fervent, "Well tell me your fucking theory then!"

The Shepherd sighed. "I believe that Ace has noticed our presence, and is enjoying watching us go through his memories as much as watching them himself. He is after all, the one who is controlling which memories we see." He clutched the bridge of his nose, "I do wonder why he chose to show us that particular one though. And why he chose to speak to us, but not reveal himself."

"So-," Sanji scowled at the trees, "He's toying with us?"

"That is one possibility, yes." The Shepherd stroked his goatee, "Or maybe he has other reasons for it. It's hard to say."

"Other reasons? What other reasons are there?"

The Shepherd shrugged, "I suppose we will find out when he finally reveals himself to us."

Sanji grumbled, "I wish he would just show up already"

"All in due time, but I do share your sentiment. We have others to visit as well," The Shepherd looked up at the sky through the thick canopy of the forest and frowned, "There is still time, but Samhain is soon upon us," He looked back down and at Sanji, "We should quicken our search."

"You want us to run?" Sanji raised an eyebrow at him.

"If not run, then quicken our pace at the very least." The Shepherd looked imploringly at him.

Sanji nodded, "Fine, let's go."

They both sped up their pace, and walked briskly through the forest. "I think we can get there faster if we get off the trail and follow the thread in a straight line though." Sanji looked at the Shepherd; he wasn't showing any signs that the faster pace was tiring him out.

"I have no issue with that, please lead the way," The Shepherd nodded, "And please do not worry yourself with my physical health. I might be old, but my body does not tire easily."

Sanji mentally slapped himself, "Okay, I won't." He shook his head, "I keep forgetting you can read my mind."

"I can do that yes, but I often refrain from doing so. You are however quite easy to read." The Shepherd smiled knowingly at him.

They soon came to a dead end at the bottom of a tall cliff, and Sanji cursed. _Perfect._

"You do have an ability you call sky walk, yes?" The Shepherd looked up at the cliff.

"I do-," Sanji said hesitatingly. "Why?"

"Would you mind using it to get us up there?" The Shepherd looked expectantly at him.

"You want me to carry you?" Sanji raised an eyebrow at him.

"Why not, it is our quickest route, is it not?"

Sanji chewed on the inside of his cheek for a second, it wasn't a bad idea, he just wasn't sure if his sky walk was strong enough to carry both of them. "I suppose-,"

"You will not find out unless you try it." The Shepherd looked at him with a mix of expectation and silent encouragement.

"Okay," Sanji nodded slowly, then a smirk ghosted his lips, "Just don't blame me if we fall."

"I am positive that you will do your outmost to not let that happen." The Shepherd smiled warmly at him.

Sanji looked him over, he was lanky, and looked like he didn't weigh much. "I'm not gonna carry you bridle style if that's what you think!"

"I would think that was obvious," The Shepherd almost rolled his eyes, and Sanji raised an eyebrow at that. "You can carry me whichever way you prefer, again, I might be old, but I am not in poor health, so do not worry about bringing me potential harm."

"Fine," Sanji sighed. "I'll carry you on my shoulder." He walked over to the Shepherd and awkwardly hoisted him over his shoulder. As he had thought, the old man weighed next to nothing. "Okay, hold on."

He bent his knees and kicked off. It was an uncomfortable minute of him kicking them upwards, and he had felt the Shepherd start to slip a few times, making him almost loose his balance. He had gritted his teeth and tightened his grip around him. The strain on his legs almost made him light them on fire as he forced himself to bring them up the last feet. Panting, he finally managed to land them safely on the edge of the cliff and dropped the Shepherd unceremoniously on the ground.

"See, I had no reason to doubt you." The Shepherd smiled as Sanji tried catching his breath.

"I need to train more," Sanji growled between breaths. Even after almost two years of continuous training, it wasn't good enough. He scowled at the ground; he knew he would never be able to train like that again. Not while being a chef on the Sunny, at least if he also wanted to sleep.

"I think it would be unwise of you to lose sleep because of your wish to become stronger." The Shepherd looked at him, a hint of worry in his eyes.

"What are you? My father?" Sanji bit his tongue, "Never mind, forget I said that."

"I will act as though nothing was said," The Shepherd nodded, and Sanji thought he saw a wry smile cross his face for a brief second. "But, in all honesty to deprive yourself of more sleep than you're already doing-," He looked at Sanji with a piercing stare again, and Sanji was sure he was rummaging through his mind at that very moment.

"Will you please stop reading my mind, how much I sleep is none of your concern." He scoffed.

"I am sorry, but as I said, you are very easy to read." The Shepherd looked apologetically at him before turning around to look into the forest. "Putting that aside, we should keep moving, are you able to notice how far it is from us?"

Sanji shot the Shepherd a dirty look, before he too looked into the forest, focusing on the tugging in his chest. There wasn't exactly a noticeable change in the strength of it, but it had been very strong to begin with. "Don't know how far it is, no." He shook his head, "The direction is dead ahead though."

"Then, do please lead the way." The Shepherd gestured with his hand to Sanji to take the lead.

Sanji sighed, but started walking in that same brisk pace they had been keeping before being halted by the cliff. "You never showed me that ghost thing we can do in the last memory." He said offhandedly.

"That is true, I believe we were too enthralled with what was going on to do it. And we did not have any use for it at that time, so I simply forgot. Forgive me, I shall see if I remember in the next one."

"It's a situational thing? Like how jumping out of a tall building triggered that slow falling thing that happened?"

The Shepherd looked thoughtful for a moment, "Yes and no, we are able to pass through nearly everything once we are in a memory at any given time if we so wish, but we rarely have a use for it, unless we are in a space which requires it. It is the same with the slowing of decent in a jump, we are always able to do that once we are in a memory, but we only have a need for it in certain situations." He shrugged. "It is easier to have you experience it some time in the next memory. As I said, it is not exactly a pleasant sensation."

"Hmm, okay-," Sanji nodded, "Don't know if I look forward to it, but sure."

They made quick time through the forest, swirling past trees and boulders, jumping over fallen branches, and Sanji's initial worry that the Shepherd would have difficulty keeping up, vanished when he saw him jump gracefully over a boulder that was almost as tall as he was. The old man was agile as fuck, and he had had to concentrate to not stumble at the sight of it.

The Shepherd chuckled, "It is funny, how, after I have told you repeatedly that I am in good health, you still get surprised by my ability to keep up with you."

Sanji spluttered, "But you're ancient for fuck sake, so excuse me for trying to be considerate."

"And yet it is so close to being condescending." The Shepherd gave him a pointed stare, and Sanji felt himself shrink under it.

"I didn't-," He shook his head, "I mean-,"

A bark of laughter came from the Shepherd as Sanji tried finding the word to explain himself.

"What's so funny?"

"It is amusing to see how little you have changed from when you were a boy," The Shepherd chuckled.

Sanji scowled as he kept his eyes on the forest around them, _bastard._

As they kept walking, The Shepherd started humming on the same tune as before, and Sanji felt his annoyance slowly ebb away by the sound of it. Soon it was replaced by a deep feeling of longing however, and he knew he had heard it somewhere a long time ago. He tried to remember, but only a faint smell of poppies, daisies and magnolia came to mind. It reminded him of someone, but he just couldn't place it.

"So, the third and final memory from our time on Skypiea-,"

Sanji nearly stumbled again, "What?"

"I thought I would continue the story." The Shepherd smiled. "You were interested in our previous list earlier-," He looked at Sanji, a glint of amusement in his eyes, "I figured why not tell the rest."

Sanji regained his footing and stared bewildered at the Shepherd, "Now?"

"It is the most opportune moment, is it not?"

Sanji looked back at the forest; it was still as dense as ever. "Sure. Although-," He focused on the thread again, the feeling was the same as before, "I don't know how much time we have left, so I don't know if we'll be able to get through the whole story before we'll get there."

The Shepherd nodded, "True, but it is not a very long memory."

"Hmm, if you say so-," He kept his focus on the thread, wishing now he could actually feel how far away it was. "I guess it's fine."

"Good." The Shepherd smiled. "So, in the final memory we were somewhere in the forest of Skypiea, close to the sacrificial altar. The Chief and Gan Fall were negotiating a peace treaty of sorts." He shook his head, "They were both so foolish to believe it would work. The war was still raging, and people were being killed every day. Gan Fall had wanted peace between the two societies for a long time already, and had tried talking to his people to lay down their arms. It was futile, as you can already imagine. Not only did the Skypieans refuse to listen, the Shandians were much the same." He smiled sadly at Sanji for a second. "You were outraged as each party lay down their terms, even as a young boy, you could understand how ludicrous their demands were. I do not believe many nine year old children would have been as insightful and knowledgeable as you were at that age. And I wholeheartedly agreed with you when you shouted out in protest, only for them not to hear you. I believe that was the first time you were truly upset during our search."

"So, what were their terms?" Sanji asked, trying to forget what the Shepherd had just said about him, even though he felt a small amount of pride for his younger self at it.

"Well-," The Shepherd gave him the same warm smile as always, before he sighed and shook his head. "The Shandians wanted full control over Upper Yard of course, which Gan Fall refused as the Skypeans viewed it as a sacred place. Gan Fall wanted all the Shandians to hand over their weapons, so that all the fighting would cease, which the Chief refused, saying that his tribe would be massacred in their sleep if they let that happen. The Chief in turn wanted the societies to be segregated and that relationships between the two people would be forbidden, Gan Fall refused as he meant a co-existing with each other would promote understanding between them. This-," He looked at Sanji again, "you agreed with Gan Fall on. You were disgusted with the idea of a segregated society."

Sanji nodded slowly. Yes, he hated any form of separation in society, he always had. It promoted so much hatred between people, and it made him sick to see it no matter where they went.

"I could possibly go on about their terms, which got steadily more outrageous the longer their debate went on, but I believe you get the idea of it. We eventually grew tired of listening to them bicker, and you wandered off, I believe you told me you needed to blow off some steam." The Shepherd chuckled, "When you came back from screaming to the heavens, you were not alone however. It was such an odd thing to happen. You came in fact back with the real Chief, and you were, for the lack of a better term, scolding him." He barked a laugh.

"I did?" Sanji chuckled.

"Oh yes, you were giving him quite an earful of how you found their _negotiation_ meeting. I dare say the Chief looked pleasantly perturbed by it."

"I bet he was," Sanji shook his head, "I always did have a problem with being candour, even back then."

"I quite agree, you did lack the restraint most adults have," The Shepherd studied him; "I dare say you've grown out of most of it now however. You possess a little more tact now, thinking before you speak and such."

Sanji narrowed his eyes at him, "I've told you, I hate it when you do that."

"Forgive me," The Shepherd smiled apologetically at him.

Suddenly Sanji felt the tugging in his chest increase, "I think it's just up ahead," He gruffly.

They came to a dried out river running through the forest. By the looks of it, it had been a very long time since water had run through this area of the forest. It was overgrown with moss, and the tree roots were snaking their way down into the crevice.

He jumped into it, and the Shepherd only nodded and followed after him. They didn't need to walk far until Sanji saw the glinting light from the thread as it coiled itself around a boulder carved out from when the water had once run through there.

He walked briskly over to it, and without saying anything reached out and touched it.

The wind whipped around them again, but they had become accustomed to it now, so both just held their ground and waited for it to end.

"You're so annoying! Shut up! Stop crying already!" Ace was shouting angrily, his face contorted in rage and annoyance.

Sanji blinked as he took in the scene in front of them. It was dusk, and Ace was screaming at a wailing Luffy who was sitting on top of the boulder. Sabo was standing next to Ace, looking worriedly at him.

"I don't like cowards or people who cry a lot!" Ace ranted. As soon as he had said it though, Luffy forced his mouth shut and stared teary-eyed at him.

"Tha-Thank y-you," Luffy stuttered out as he bowed his head. Sanji couldn't help staring wide-eyed at him at that, as did Ace and Sabo. "You-," tears began pouring down Luffy's cheeks again, "You s-saved me!" he sobbed.

"You-," Ace growled and looked ready to pounce on Luffy, but Sabo put his hand on his shoulder.

"Whoa! He's just being thankful."

Ace gritted his teeth, and even though he was furious, Sanji thought he could see a trace of worry in his eyes. "Why didn't you just cough it up in the first place? They're the kind of people who don't have a problem with killing women and children without hesitation!"

Most of Luffy's face was obscured by his hat as he was still bowing his head, but Sanji could see the faint shaking of his shoulders even if the tears had stopped again.

"Because-," Luffy sniffed, "Because I thought if I didn't say anything-," his lip wobbled a little, "You wouldn't be my friend."

Sanji stared at Luffy, he looked so small and fragile and his whole body was trembling now. _What the fuck had just happened?_

"It's better than dying, isn't it?" Ace was pointing at Luffy, his initial anger having been replaced with annoyance and confusion. "Why do you wanna be my friend so badly, anyway?"

Luffy was clutching the hem of his shorts, "Because-,"

"After all the things I put you through-," Ace's voice had soften a little, but it still had an edge to it, like he could explode again at any moment, "Why did you continue to follow me?"

"Because-," Luffy balled his fists tighter before he shot his head up, his face filled with agony, fear and loneliness, "Because I don't have anyone else!" He screamed out. "I can't go back to Fooshia village and I hate the mountain bandits!" He was on the verge of crying again, his voice cracking, "If I didn't follow you, I'd be all alone! Being alone is more painful than being hurt!"

Sanji was staring transfixed at the scene in front of him; he was so confused, and yet he felt a pang in his stomach at what Luffy had just said. Loneliness was truly the worst feeling in the world; he could understand that too well. Still, he wanted to know what had happened to elicit this conversation.

"Where are your parents?" Ace said, his voice suddenly bordering on affectionate, and his body language a lot calmer. Sanji couldn't help starting at him, that's definitely not what he had expected.

"I only have Grandpa." Luffy said a little defiantly.

"Is it better when I'm here?" Ace muttered quietly.

"Uh-um" Luffy nodded, biting his lower lip as to keep it from wobbling.

"And it would be bad if I wasn't?" Ace frowned, and Sanji could see a hint of a glare still in his eyes.

"Uh-um" Luffy nodded again.

Suddenly a gust of wind surrounded them and Sanji had to shut his eyes. When he opened them, a younger Ace was standing in a bar surrounded by a horde of thugs who were laughing at him. "What if Roger had a son?" Their faces surrounded and loomed over Ace, some laughing and some leering, "Haha, it would be pretty bad if he did! That kid would probably be a demon as well. A kid like that doesn't deserve to live or even having been born!"

Before Sanji could even open his mouth, the wind swirled around them again, and when he opened his eyes for a second time, he was back in the forest as if nothing had happened. He stared at the Shepherd bewildered, but the old man only shook his head. Then he heard a clink of metal and he looked back to Ace who was clutching his staff harder as he glared at the ground.

"You want me to live?" Ace asked just above a whisper, and Sanji suddenly saw just how young Ace actually was here. He was a lonely ten year old boy who didn't feel like he belonged in the world. Sanji felt his heart squeeze a little tighter at the sight of it; it was all just a little too close to home.

"Of course I do!" Luffy yelled, and Sanji was dragged out of his thoughts by it. Luffy was almost glaring at Ace, as if he was angry at Ace for even thinking something like that.

"I see." Ace muttered, his eyes shadowed by his bangs, but his eyes had softened considerably. Then he turned around, scratching the back of his head. "I still hate spoiled kids like you, though."

Without warning the boys suddenly turned translucent and then disappeared, leaving them alone in the forest once more.

"What the hell was that?" Sanji roared at the Shepherd.

The Shepherd looked thoughtfully at the sky for a moment, "If I am not mistaken, I believe this was just after Luffy got himself into trouble with a gang of pirates in the Grey Terminal, and Ace and Sabo rescued him."

"Actually-," A voice came from behind them, and both Sanji and the Shepherd turned around to see a fully grown up Ace stepping out from in-between the trees. "There's a bit more to that story." He smiled forlornly at the pair of them. "Hey Sanji-," he nodded at him, before turning his eyes on the Shepherd. "And you're Death, right?"

The Shepherd shook his head, "Please, call me Shepherd. Death sounds so dark and morbid."

* * *

 **AN** :

So I said I would have this story done by Nov 1, well it looks like that won't happen as I suddenly got a lot more work (yay for money, right? Now I can afford buying Christmas presents for people!), but that means I'll have a lot less time to write. Also the story got a lot longer than I first anticipated, so don't hate me too much for not getting it finished on schedule. Don't worry though, I will get it done, I have the whole story planned, I just have to write it out.  
(This chapter hasn't been beta'ed yet, because my betareader is away atm, so sorry for any mistakes.)

Hopefully you guys won't hate me too much, and I really hope you're enjoying it.  
So if you are please consider clicking that fav/follow button, and or leave a review to tell me what you think.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

"It is, however, nice to finally meet you Ace," The Shepherd smiled warmly at him.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too, Shepherd." Ace bowed respectfully.

Sanji couldn't help starting at Ace, the last few hours had been such an emotional rollercoaster and so thoroughly confusing, he didn't even know what to say.

"I'm guessing you're here because of Halloween, right?"

The Shepherd nodded, "I am glad to know you are aware of it, though I would prefer it if you would call it by its proper name, Samhain. No matter though, we are here on business to ask if you are willing to meet with your brother again? He is still grieving, and, as I have understood, feels an immense amount of guilt because of the circumstances of your death."

Ace looked at Sanji, his eyes shining with worry, "Is it true? Is Luffy still beating himself up over it?"

Sanji nodded slowly before he shook his head, shaking himself out of the stupor, "Yeah-," He sighed and looked at Ace sadly, "He barely sleeps, and when he does he's got nightmares, he zones out more often than he used to as well. He's gotten stronger though, like insanely much stronger. I think that he trained like hell over the last two years so he wouldn't have to deal with the emotional stuff." He relit the cigarette he'd been chewing on for the last few hours, unable to keep the cravings at bay anymore. He had tried to save it as he had no idea how long they would be there. He only had eight left including the one he was holding, and he wanted them to last for as long as possible. "Now that we're all together again, we're trying our best to help him, but we don't really know what to do, to be honest." He looked at the ground, feeling shame wash over him, "I'm so sorry Ace, we promised you we'd keep him safe, and we failed."

Ace nodded with a sad look on his face. "I knew it was a lot to ask of you to keep him safe. I mean, you've only seen a fraction of what we were like as kids. And I haven't shown you any of the more dangerous stuff we did at all." He gestured to the area around them, "The memory I just showed you was the first time I truly started to care for Luffy in some way," A fond smile ghosted his lips, "I should probably tell you the circumstances around it though." He chuckled. "I'm sorry I put you in the middle of that memory without any context, but it was pretty funny seeing your face."

Sanji took a deep drag of his cigarette, "It was pretty shitty of you. I'm still annoyingly confused about the whole thing. I've never seen Luffy act like that before. Just what the fuck happened?"

Ace walked over and plopped down on the boulder where Luffy had been sitting. "Well. As you saw in the memory when Luffy first arrived at Dadan's, I couldn't stand him. In fact I hated practically anything and everyone back then, except for Sabo that is, he was the only friend I had. But anyway, you saw how I tried to kill him, I don't remember if I actually did it consciously or not, but I definitely wanted to hurt him. I wanted him to stop following me. I just couldn't understand why he would do that. The first thing I ever did to him was spit him in the face, and still he ran after me into the forest." Ace shook his head. "He did that for three months."

"Three months?" Sanji gaped at him.

"Yup, and he never stopped. When I knocked him into the ravine below the bridge-," a look of shame crossed his face, "It took Luffy a week to come back to the hideout. I was sure he was dead." He looked up at the sky, a tortured look on his face, "And I didn't even care." He looked at Sanji and the Shepherd, his eyes almost pleading, "Who does that? Who doesn't even care that they might have killed a small seven year old kid?" He shook his head, "I don't even know what my life would have been today if it wasn't for what Luffy did before we ended up here." He gestured to the area around them again. "I owe everything to him."

Sanji swallowed, he never would have believed that Ace owed Luffy for anything; he'd always thought it was the other way around. It seemed like that for Luffy at least. "I don't even know what to say to that. What happened?"

Ace chuckled, "Luffy happened, I suppose." He shook his head. "My idiot of a brother, hard-headed, stubborn and crazy, he always refused to take no for an answer. I don't think it's in his vocabulary to be honest."

Sanji only nodded. Yes, that was Luffy alright.

"I should probably tell you the rest." He sighed, and then looked at the ground sadly. "After those three months of Luffy following me through the forest every day, almost getting killed by alligators, gigantic tigers and bears, swarms of bees, and whatever else lives in this insane forest, he managed to get to the Grey Terminal, I'm guessing at the spot you guys arrived at actually. He went looking for me in the rubble, and must have seen me as I left for mine and Sabo's treasure tree."

"Treasure tree?" The Shepherd asked, and both Ace and Sanji stared at him, having almost forgotten he was there.

"Ah, yeah." Ace frowned, "Me and Sabo had spent around five years gathering money for when we would finally set sail and become pirates." He shook his head.

Sanji looked over at the Shepherd, "You told me Sabo had been living in the Grey Terminal since he was five, right?" Then he looked over at Ace again, "I'm guessing you were around the same age as well when you made it out there, right?"

Ace shrugged, "I suppose so, I don't really remember how old I was when I first found that place. But I found Sabo at some point, and since we were about the same age, we became friends. Mostly because we didn't really have anyone else, I guess."

"Hmm, makes sense." Sanji nodded, "But how the fuck did you manage to get out there at that age? And even survive?"

Ace shrugged again, "Again, I don't know really, having grown up with Dadan and the boys, I kinda had to make it on my own from the moment I could walk, so I ran away a lot." He chuckled softly. "I have no idea how many times Dogra and Magra found me beat up in the forest."

"Dogra and Magra?" Sanji looked at him confused.

"Yeah, you saw them in the memory, the tiny guy with the turban is Dogra, and the tall guy with a wattle on his chin is Marga. They're good people." Ace smiled fondly.

"Ah okay," Sanji nodded, remembering the two weirdos from the memory when Luffy was brought there by Garp.

"I guess after spending years running around the forest getting my ass whopped, I finally got strong enough to get through it. It only took Luffy around three months to get through the roughest part of it when he was seven, so I suppose it took me about a year or something when I was around five. I don't know." He rubbed his neck. "Anyway, back to how we ended up here." He gestured to the area around them once again. "On this particular day I had done something very stupid. I'd beaten up and robbed a few of Bluejam's men. A local gang of thugs who paraded around calling themselves pirates." He scrunched up his nose in disgust, "I bet they'd never even been at sea." He shook his head, "Anyway, our treasure tree was one of the biggest trees close to the Grey Terminal. We had made a hole in one of the larger branches and kept our stash in it. I don't remember how much we'd gathered at that point, but it was probably close to around hundred thousand beri or something."

Sanji whistled impressed, and Ace nodded proudly.

"It was a good haul for a couple of kids, I'll give us that." Then he scowled, "Too bad it all went to hell though."

Sanji took a new drag of his cigarette, "I'm guessing this Bluejam guy had something to do with it?"

"Nail on the head there. But yeah, I guess it all started with this day, and my stupid mistake. We were getting cocky and too reckless." Ace continued to scowl at the ground. "I met up with Sabo at the tree and we compared our haul for the day, we were talking too loud however, and when we mentioned that we couldn't wait until we would set out and become pirates. You can only guess who shouted up at us from the bottom that he wanted to become a pirate too."

Both Sanji and the Shepherd nodded.

"Yes. Again, my idiot little brother," Ace shook his head exasperated; "Of course we panicked and climbed down as fast as we could and threw him to the ground to make him shut up. We tied him up to the tree after that, and were debating what we should do with him. I don't know why, but we both decided that killing him was our best option for him to stay quiet. Of course Luffy started screaming that he didn't want to die at that." He sighed a little dejectedly, "And that's where everything started going downhill. His screaming. As we weren't that far away from the trash mountains, a lot of people heard it. So the people I had robbed, and their leader of sorts, Porchemy, came to our spot. We tried to hide, and that's when I realised who I'd just robbed. We tried to keep quiet, and just wait for them to leave, but of course that didn't last long. I have no clue how he managed it, but Luffy somehow got himself caught by them, and started screaming out for me. If I didn't want to kill him before, I had a strong urge to do it then. Porchemy wanted information on where I was, and the treasure, but Luffy lied, and you can only imagine how that looked. He's the worst liar I've ever met." He chuckled a little before he shook his head, "However, when Luffy refused to say anything, Porchemy decided to take him with him to their shack and torture the information out of him."

Sanji growled, "Bastard."

"Oh, he was, trust me. We were sure Luffy would crack pretty quickly, so we spent the next few hours moving our stash to another spot, and then Sabo went to keep watch by the tree. When it was nearing dusk and no one had come there looking for us again, Sabo had panicked and went to find out where Luffy was. When he realised what was going on, he came rushing back and told me. I was so torn, on one hand I was fed up with Luffy always running after me, but on the other I was starting to grow used to him always being a thorn in my side. So we did the only thing we could do, we rushed over there and smashed through the walls, and not a moment to late either as that bastard was about to kill Luffy for not saying anything." Ace glared, "That fucker had tortured him with a spiked glove for close to six hours at that point."

"HE HAD WHAT?" Sanji roared.

Ace nodded somberly, "So now you get why I was yelling at Luffy so furiously in that memory."

Sanji breathed hard, "I do."

The Shepherd nodded, a hard look in his eyes, before he looked thoughtfully over at Ace. "Ace, may I inquire as to why you have shown us these particular memories?"

The scowl on Ace's face disappeared and he looked at the Shepherd confused, "You mean, why show you how me and Luffy met?"

The Shepherd nodded, "I can only surmise that you noticed our presence at some point, either when we were watching you boys learning of Luffy's devil fruit abilities, or during the memory within the city. Usually a person will reveal themselves to us once they notice we are here, you did not do that. Why?"

Ace furrowed his brows as he thought, "Hmm, I'm not sure. I think that maybe I wanted-," he looked over at Sanji, "You, to know a little of Luffy's history. I bet he's never told you guys anything from when he was a kid. And I couldn't help overhear you saying you didn't even know Shanks was the one that gave Luffy his hat. I kinda wish your whole crew was here to see it though, if Luffy's hurting as much as you say he is."

Sanji raised an eyebrow at him, "You wanted me to know about Luffy's past?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "You were right-," he pointed at the Shepherd, "I did notice you. It was when you were leaving after you had watched the memory of when we learned about Luffy's devil fruit. I had already decided on the next memory so I couldn't really change it then, but I followed you and listened to you when you talked. I was pretty shocked when you talked about the fire, Shepherd. I didn't know it happened so often. And I must say Sanji, I had no clue you're from a noble family, you certainly don't act like it."

Sanji looked at the ground, "Yeah well-," he trailed off.

"You don't have to explain it, I gathered you had a pretty shitty life and that you escaped. That's enough for me." Ace smiled at him before he turned back to the Shepherd again. "You had extensive knowledge of some of our past, that we were caught in the fire and stuff. You didn't have the whole story, but it was a good summary I suppose." He shrugged and then hopped down from the boulder. "I kinda want to show you some more of it, if you have the time. I think it will help you-," He pointed at Sanji, "To help my brother. Of course I'll join you on Hall- Samhain. But I think it would do you good to know just a little bit more."

Sanji stared at him before looking over at the Shepherd, "Is there time?"

The Shepherd sighed and looked up at the dusk coloured sky above them, "I believe so." He looked back down at Sanji, "I did tell you we were early. I think now that the Crone wanted us to have more time this time around. We also have others we need to find, but I think this will be important in order to help your captain."

Ace nodded and smiled, "Perfect, let's see, which one to show you first."

As he stepped closer to Sanji, reaching his hand out to touch him, Sanji couldn't help flinch. Ace was radiating with the same energy as the spirit thread, but it was a lot more powerful. It was almost overwhelming.

"What?" Ace stopped his hand, and looked at him worriedly.

"Ah-," Sanji shook his head, "It's nothing." He felt a bead of sweat trail down his back, _so this is the true power of a person's spirit?_

The Shepherd looked keenly at him, but didn't say anything.

"It'll be quicker this way, instead of us having to walk back and forth through the forest to get to each memory. I've left threads all over the place, so it's easier for me to move around." Ace said a little proudly.

"That is quite a feat for someone who has only been in their Summerland for such a short time, Ace." The Shepherd smiled warmly at him.

"Summerland?" Ace raised an eyebrow at him.

"Ah, I forget you are not familiar with the terminology, forgive me." The Shepherd's smile faltered, "The Summerland is what we call the afterlife of someone who has died. I suppose it is somewhat outdated now." He sighed.

"It sounds a lot more glamorous than it actually is," Ace shook his head.

"I will not disagree with you, but you seem to be doing well in yours." The Shepherd looked at the forest around them, a small smile back on his face.

Ace nodded slowly, "Now I do at least, in the beginning I was reliving the war over and over again. It took me a while to figure out how to bend this place to my will."

"And you have succeeded in doing so faster than most people, I know of several whom it took decades for them to learn it." The warm smile was back as he looked at Ace, "Now, I believe you had chosen a memory for us to see?"

"Thank you, that's kind of you to say, Shepherd," He gave a quick bow before he nodded, "And yes I have."

* * *

 **AN** :

This chapter hasn't been beta'ed yet, so if you feel something is off, or wrong, it's because my betareader is away atm.  
I still hope you enjoyed it though, and I hope you're looking forward to the next one.  
I want to thank everyone whose currently following it, both members and guests. It's nice to know people find it interesting.

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